A six kilometer section of the 19 kilometer road was blacktopped six months ago.

Local resident Narasingh Kahar said the blacktopped road has been damaged due to use of low quality construction materials.

Birendra Singh Chhetri, engineer at the Gorusinghe-based Western Regional Road Division Office, said that road developed cracks as the soil and gravel works of the section was carried out local people as well as the District Development Committee (DDC) earlier.

He said it is the responsibility of the contractor to repair the damaged road.

Construction company, Swachchhanda Kumar Shrestha JV Mahendranagar, is contracted to construct the road with the total budget of Rs 51 million.

The company’s Project Coordinator Rajendra Shrestha said the road damaged due to movement of vehicles carrying heavy loads against its capacity. According to technicians, only 60 percent of the road work has been completed though it deadline expired around five months ago.

‘Sub-standard materials’ used

PARSA: The Jagarnathpur-Milanchowk road in the district has been damaged just two months after its completion. The road constructed under the Rural Access Improvement and Decentralisation Project (RAIDP), has developed potholes in many places as the tar came off.

Local people, who earlier halted construction work for one month accusing the contractor of using sub-standard construction materials, said their calls to the contractor and the District Development Committee (DDC) to use quality materials have not been heeded.

“We asked the concerned stakeholders to use better construction materials, but to no avail,” local resident Nawal Kishor Jha said.

DDC officials, meanwhile, held the contractor responsible and said they have already asked the contractor for carry out the repair work. As per the agreement reached earlier, the contractor is bound to repair road if it is damaged within one year after construction.

Officials of the contractor company, Pappu Construction, said the road has been damaged as ‘they had to work within conditions put forth by the RAIDP’. (PR

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