As most of the local units have prioritised the construction of suspension bridges in Tehrathum district, more than 100 suspension bridges have been constructed in the district so far.

According to the data of the District Coordination Committee, five to seven suspension bridges are being constructed every year.

Shiva Dhungana, chief at the District Coordination Committee, said that more than 100 suspension bridges have been constructed to connect villages with Myanglung, the district headquarters, in the last one and half decades.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, on his first stint as prime minister in 2015, had pledged to replace all the tuins in Nepal with suspension bridges.

Kishor Chandra Dulal, former chairman at the District Development Committee, said that they had opted for the construction of the suspension bridge over the rivers and streams to connect rural villages with the town. “There were no road networks in the past. People had to walk through foot trails to reach the nearby market,” said Dulal. “So the process of constructing suspension bridges had begun more than a decade ago.”

Every year, the District Coordination Committee has been receiving around 10 to 12 applications demanding suspension bridges in villages. As per the record of the committee, suspension bridges were recently constructed at eight various places, including Lambu, Khorunga, Iwa and Teliya streams and Tamor river.

In the past, cases of accidents and deaths while crossing the river and streams using tuins, wooden boats, tyre tubes, wooden logs were common in the district. Such accidents have decreased after the construction of suspension bridges.

Dilli Dahal, a local of Menchhyayam, said that they no longer have to risk their lives to cross the rivers and streams during the rainy season. According to him, locals in remote areas have been able to take their produce, especially vegetables to the markets across the river and streams, with the construction of bridges. Dahal said, “School-going children don’t have to worry about rain-swollen rivers and streams.”

Laxman Tiwari, a provincial lawmaker, said that suspension bridges have become the backbone of development in Tehrathum district. Tiwari said, “The demand of suspension bridge is high in the district. It connects people to places and opens the door to development.”