Pappu Construction has resumed the construction of a bridge over Lalbakaiya River at Tikuliyaghat in Rautahat district. However, locals claim that the construction work is going on at a snail’s pace.

On August 24, 2018, five people were killed when a boat carrying 29 people across the river capsized after hitting the pillar of the under-construction bridge. The construction company was awarded the contract four years ago with a completion deadline of July 2017, but it has barely finished putting up the full structure of the bridge. The contractor has been under pressure from all quarters to complete the construction of the said bridge on time.

In the last four years, only 60 percent of the bridge’s construction work has been completed. The workers are on the third span of the bridge out of a total of six spans that have to be constructed. Shyam Narayan Jha, an engineer at the Department of Roads, said the contractor company will be held accountable if the bridge is not constructed in time.

“If this is the pace at which the contractor will work, the bridge will not be constructed any time soon,” he said.

However, Surendra Yadav, a site engineer of Pappu Constructions, said that construction work of the bridge has gained pace. “We will definitely complete the construction of the bridge this fiscal year,” said Yadav.

Locals have been taking an active interest in the ongoing construction of the bridge to ensure timely completion of the project.

Dimple Jha, state minister for the Physical Infrastructure, has inspected the ongoing construction work of the bridge.  “Locals will continue to face difficulties if there are further delays in the construction of the bridge,” she said.