The protest by locals who blocked the Gaur-Chandranigahapur section of the Mahendra Highway for three days by setting up tents in the middle of the road ended on Friday afternoon. 

This happened after the authorities signed an agreement with protesters to resume the construction of a bridge. They resorted to the protest to pressure the authorities to complete the Bagmati Bridge in Durga Bhagawati Rural Municipality on the Rautahat-Sarlahi border.

The foundation of the bridge was laid on June 14, 2010, and even after 13 years, the construction remains incomplete.

According to Nitesh Gupta, a local leader who is spearheading the protest, the bridge is an important project for connecting the western districts of Madhesh to the provincial headquarters of Janakpur. In the rainy season, citizens of the western district face several difficulties due to the absence of the bridge. 

Similarly, farmers in Rautahat and Sarlahi, who have crop fields on both sides of the river, are forced to take risky boat rides regularly.

The protest ended after an agreement between the Postal Highway Directorate and the protesters to build a bridge, said Gupta.