The construction of a bailey bridge over Ghoptekhola in Marsyangdi Rural Municipality Ward No. 4, Lamjung, has brought relief to the locals.

A flood in the river in the first week of August had swept away the old bridge, made of hume pipes and gravel, cutting off locals in Ram bazaar from the district headquarters in Besisahar. The flood had also swept away 15 metres of the road section along the Besisahar-Chame road.

Vehicular movement along the road had come to a halt since then. But with the construction of the new bridge, traffic flow has resumed. The area sees heavy traffic flow, with over 50 vehicles, including minibuses and trucks, passing over the bridge every day, local entrepreneurs in Manang say.

“The Besisahar-Chame road section has been witnessing multiple landslides since the 2015 earthquakes. Every year during the rainy season, floods and landslides block the road for a few months,” said Mahendra Thapa, a local of Ram bazaar. “We are cut off from Besisahar for weeks during the rainy season. The new bailey bridge will hopefully put an end to our misery.”

Suman Adhikari, a sub engineer of the Dumre-Besisahar-Chame road project, said, “The bailey bridge in Ghoptekhola is 27 metres long and 4.20 metres wide. It is strong enough to withstand heavy rainfall and floods.”

According to Amit Kumar Shrestha, chief divisional engineer of the Division Road Office in Damauli, the total estimation of the bridge project is Rs 3.2 million.