Gulmi voters want bridge at Repka, not promises

BY TILACHAN PANDEY,Tamghas (Gulmi), Feb. 8: Electoral candidates are presently visiting door-to-door in Gulmi, seeking votes. However, voters have expressed greater concern over a dilapidated bridge that they are compelled to use daily. 

Residents of Gulmi Constituency No. 1 have complained that the motorable bridge connecting Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-1 of Gulmi and Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-7 of Syangja has remained neglected for over a decade, despite its severely deteriorated condition.

Local resident Purushottam Pandey of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-1, Harmichaur, stated that the community's primary concern was the unsafe bridge used for daily travel, rather than political leaders. He emphasised that no significant efforts had been undertaken to construct a new bridge, even though the existing structure had been in a fragile state for more than 10 years. 

Similarly, vehicle driver Gagan Taramu, a daily user of the bridge, expressed distress over the prolonged use of a dilapidated crossing. He remarked that some bridges had been constructed in unnecessary locations due to leaders’ influence and remained unused, lamenting the lack of development-oriented leadership in the area. 

The bridge continues to deteriorate as the Kaligandaki River erodes its supporting pillars. Despite this, vehicles traveling from Butwal and Pokhara to Gulmi and onward to Baglung frequently use this crossing. Drivers and vehicle owners found it ironic that, despite the daily heavy traffic, the bridge has failed to attract political attention. Locals claim that affluent leaders with substantial access to the central government have neglected local development needs.

The motorable bridge at Repka, connecting Mirmee of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-7 in Syangja district of Gandaki Province and Harmichaur of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-1 in Gulmi district of Lumbini Province, was constructed in 1995 by the Italian government during the development of the Kaligandaki A Hydropower Project. Over the past decade, it has been gradually deteriorating.

Kaligandaki Rural Municipality Chairman Bed Bahadur Thapa stated that although the local government had initiated efforts to replace the dilapidated bridge with a new structure, progress had been hindered by a lack of support at the central level. He noted that he has been raising this issue since his election and that repeated requests to the Department of Roads for the construction of a new concrete bridge have yet to be fulfilled.

Candidates from the region, representing the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, Nepali Communist Party, among others, have pledged to prioritise local development efforts.