The construction of the Bagmati bridge in Durga Bhagwati Municipality-5 along the state borders of Rautahat and Sarlahi has resumed 12 years after its foundation stone was laid.

The construction work was initiated in 2010.

The construction work of the bridge was halted after the Bagmati river changed its course in July 2011, according to the Postal Highway Directorate. Since then, the construction of the bridge has remained in limbo.

The construction work was awarded to Lumbini Builders on June 14, 2010. Lanka KC, the contractor in charge of the project, said since the directorate could not make the site available for the project work to proceed, the construction company sought release from the contract. According to KC, the overall cost of the project has also increased, therefore, construction work could not be completed with the budget first allocated to the project.

Lumbini Builders was awarded the contract at a budget of Rs 358.9 million. The construction company signed an agreement on June 14, 2010, to complete the construction of the bridge. The deadline for the project was June 13, 2013.

The contractor company moved the Patan High Court and sought compensation for the construction work undertaken before the river changed its course. The court ruled in the construction company’s favour and directed the Directorate to pay the compensation.

The company had completed the construction of 17 spans of the bridge before the river changed its course.

The Postal Highway Directorate scrapped the contract and has begun the construction work of the bridge with another contractor, according to Dharmendra Jha, director of the Directorate. Mahalakshmi, Bikas, YP JV has been awarded the contract for the construction of the bridge and a 2,241 metre-long embankment at a budget of Rs 574 million. The agreement was signed on April 24, 2022, with the deadline set for October 26, 2024.

“Work is currently underway on the east side of the river. We have signed a new contract and the contractor has promised to finish the construction work by the new deadline,” he said. “We have outsourced work to a consultant to determine the structural integrity of the bridge.”

The length of the bridge is 634 metres and the width is double in length.

People from both Rautahat and Sarlahi districts stand to benefit from the construction of the bridge over the Bagmati river. The residents of Bataspur, Badharwa, and Rajdevi, among other villages, currently rely on boats to cross the river.

Rameshwar Shah, a resident of Badharwa in Rautahat, said that the absence of a bridge over the river puts lives at risk, especially during the monsoon season when the river swells. “We wouldn’t have to use boats to cross the river to go to our fields every day if only the construction of the bridge was completed on time,” he said.