Blacktopping of Urlabari road to be completed by mid-July

BY HARI PRASAD KOIRALA,Urlabari, June 19: The blacktopping of a 5.276-kilometre under construction road in Urlabari Municiplaity in Morang district with the assistance of the World Bank, which had been halted for a long time due to non-payment by the construction company, is now set to be completed within the stipulated deadline.

There were concerns that the work might not be finished on time after being suspended for nearly three months. However, Urlabari Municipality Mayor Ganga Prasad Kharel said that the construction company had increased manpower and was now working intensively to meet the deadline of mid-July. 

According to Mayor Kharel, the road construction has so far achieved 87 per cent financial and 90 per cent physical progress.

The contract for the road construction was signed on March 5, 2023, and was awarded through a global tender to Sifal Infra Hyderabad of India.

 However, Sifal did not carry out the work and subcontracted the project to Arjun Tumrok, a local contractor from Urlabari. When Sifal failed to pay Tumrok for the work done, the municipality seized Rs. 45 million from Sifal’s bank guarantee. Following this, Sifal and Tumrok reached an agreement to continue the work.

As per the agreement, the work must be completed by mid-July 2025. Despite less than a month remaining, Arjun Tumrok, the director of Tumrok Construction, stated that the work would be completed by the deadline. 

He said that with 90 per cent of the work already completed, there would be no legal complications regarding an extension. Major physical works will be completed, and beautification and street lighting tasks will continue sequentially, he added. 

The road, which was inaugurated on September 25, 2023, connects Krishnachok of Urlabari-3 to Sunjoda of Urlabari-2 under the East-West Highway. The road is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 361,243,616 and will have a width ranging from 5.5 metres to a maximum of 7 metres. It includes a 1.2-metre bicycle lane on both sides, 1.8-metre wide drainage and footpaths, and a 0.25-metre thick drain system.

As part of the pride project of Urlabari Municipality, 526 street lights of 50 watts each will be installed at intervals of 20 metres, for which pole installation work has already been completed. Beautification works such as tree plantation every 10 metres and zebra crossings have not yet begun.