The upgrade of the 46-kilometre road from Bahrakilo in ward 11 of Gorkha Municipality to Barpak in ward 1 of the Barpark-Sulikot Rural Municipality has been left in limbo for more than five years. Out of the four road sections scheduled for upgrade, work on two sections has been completed.

According to project officials, the upgrade work on two sections has been left incomplete due to the negligence of the contractor. The upgrade work on an eight kilometres section—from Chanauti to the Baluwa section—and a 16 kilometres section—from Baluwa to Barpak— which should have been blacktopped by mid-July 2018 is still incomplete.

The deadline for the completion of the upgrade of the eight-kilometre section was July 2017. The construction company, Lohani and Brothers Construction Company, has already sought an extension of the deadline for a sixth time. They are in the process of seeking a deadline extension for the seventh time, according to Amindra Khadka, head of the Barpak Road Project.

Lohani and Brothers Construction Company was awarded the contract for the eight-kilometre section on July 16, 2015.

According to Khadka, the financial progress on the eight-kilometre section is 80.66 percent while the physical progress is at 82 percent. “The company has informed that the delay in construction was caused by the 2015 earthquake, a shortage of construction materials following the economic blockade imposed by India, and the Covid pandemic,” said Khadka. “They have also stated that the delay in felling trees for the upgrade was also responsible.”

The contract for the construction of the 16-kilometre road section from Baluwa to Barpak was awarded to Rasuwa/Elite/Surya JV on July 10, 2016, for Rs330 million. The work was supposed to be completed within two years of the signing of the contract. But even after seven years, the financial progress of the project is at 85 percent and the physical progress 82.77 percent, according to Khadka. The work completion deadline has already been extended five times and the contractor is currently seeking a sixth extension.

The latest completion deadline for both the road sections expired on July 10.

According to Khadka, the construction work on both the road sections has been affected also due to the difficult terrain.

“The process to extend the deadlines for both the contractors is currently underway. Workers have started activities along the Baluwa-Barpak section. The contractor has said that it would start work along the Bahrakilo-Baluwa section within two weeks,” said Khadka.

The 12-km long Masanethanti-Nibel section of the Bahrakilo-Barpak road is part of the Mid-hill Highway Project. Ten kilometres of the road section was blacktopped two years ago.

The locals who have been facing difficulties due to the incomplete state of the roads have demanded immediate completion of the upgrade work along the Bahrakilo-Barpak road. “We are urging the authorities concerned to complete the road upgrade work soon,” said Bishnu Bhatta, chairman of Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality. According to him, the road project should repair the flood-damaged bridge across the Rangrung stream. “During the rainy season, frequent flooding of the Daraudi River creates problems for a bridge in the Baluwa area. The long-term solution to the problem should be sought,” said Bhatta.