New bridge eases life of Gulmi and Parbat locals

By Tilachan Pandey,Tamghas, July 9: A newly built concrete bridge over the Kaligandaki River connecting Purtighat of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality in Gulmi district and Bihadi Rural Municipality in Parbat district has now eased life of locals.

 Sarita Chaudhary Paudel, a farmer from Bihadi Rural Municipality in Parbat, shared that the bridge has made things much easier. 

She owns three greenhouses. She shared that the bridge has helped her transport and sell her agricultural goods to market easily. As it has eased access to markets and improved income opportunities, the bridge has played a key role in changing her lifestyle.

Keshav Parajuli, who is also a farmer, said that the bridge has made his daily life more convenient. He has been growing vegetables commercially building several permanent tunnels and said the bridge made transporting produce to markets much easier.

Drivers said that the bridge has also shortened the travel time to Pokhara. According to a local, Rishi Bhandari, traveling to Pokhara has become faster, and even when one route is blocked, the bridge provides an alternative.

Lil Bahadur KC of Purtighat, Gulmi, added that the bridge has brought Gulmi and Parbat closer. It has also helped bring fresh produces from Parbat to the market quickly. He mentioned that earlier people had to rely on vegetables from Butwal, but now fresh vegetables arrive early in the morning from Parbat.

Initially, a contract to build the bridge was signed between Tamghas Simaltari Pyuthan Road Project Office and Elite Construction Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu in mid-September 2016. The contract cost was Rs. 146.77 million. According to the agreement, the construction company was supposed to complete and hand over the bridge by April 2020. However, after the original project office was dissolved, the responsibility was transferred to the Madan Bhandari Highway Project Office in Tamghas.

In 2023, the Road Division Office in Palpa was handed over the project implementation responsibility.  A few months ago, construction was finally completed, and the bridge was officially inaugurated by Member of the House of Representatives Chandra Bhandari. 

Inaugurating the bridge, lawmaker Bhandari said that although it took time, the initiative he had taken back in 2016 had finally yielded results. He said the bridge would improve access to Pokhara and the Kaligandaki corridor, thus transforming the lifestyle of local residents.

Surya Gautam, Information Officer at the Palpa Road Division Office, said that after many years, the bridge construction has finally been completed. The work was done according to the 12th amendment of the Public Procurement Regulations.