Every monsoon, the Kayar river swells into a torrent that cuts off villages, strands families, and, at times, claims lives.

For residents of Siddhi in the hills of Chitwan district, crossing the river has long meant taking a gamble with death. Children clung to ropes to reach school. Pregnant women and the sick walked for hours for treatment. During heavy rains, entire settlements remained isolated for days.

Last July, 33-year-old Gambhir Bahadur Chepang was swept away while trying to cross the flooded river at Tindobhan. His body was recovered around 1.5 kilometres downstream.

“He might still be alive if there had been a bridge here,” said Namuna Chepang, his relative, standing beside the structure now rising over the river.

On Saturday, workers were pouring concrete on the bridge deck, a moment many locals described not simply as a construction milestone, but as the end of a long period of fear.

“There was always anxiety during the rainy season,” Namuna said. “Now maybe our children will not have to go through the same suffering.”

The bridge, being built by Kalika Municipality in ward 10, is expected to connect remote Chepang settlements in northern Siddhi with nearby market areas and health services year-round.

At present, the river is shallow enough to cross on foot. But residents say its calm appearance is deceptive. Once the monsoon begins, the river rapidly becomes impassable.

Nabin Praja Chepang remembers crossing the river with the help of ropes suspended above the water when he was a student at Majhwang Secondary School in Tindobhan.

“We used to risk our lives just to sit for examinations,” he said.

Now an adult, he still makes the journey frequently, walking more than an hour to bring his pregnant wife for health check-ups. He said memories of people being swept away during the monsoon continue to haunt the community.

Kalika Municipality Mayor Binod Regmi said repeated requests for federal and provincial funding failed to produce results, forcing the municipality to move ahead on its own.

“People were dying here, and still there was no budget for a bridge,” Regmi said. “We realised waiting any longer was not an option.”

Municipal engineer Kishor Khatiwada said the bridge’s detailed project report had been prepared with federal support, but construction ultimately depended on municipal funding. Work began after a contract agreement was signed in June last year.

The 40-metre bridge is being built at Rs43.86 million and is scheduled for completion by January 2027. Officials say pedestrians and small vehicles may begin using it before the monsoon season, even if some riverbank protection work remains unfinished.

Deputy Mayor Bimala Lama said the bridge would benefit between 10,000 and 12,000 residents in the area, many of them from the highly marginalised Indigenous Chepang community.

The route also links settlements in neighbouring Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality, including Chauki, Bharang and Thaprang, and connects onward to Hattibang, a growing tourist destination near the Prithvi Highway.

Local officials say improving the road network alongside the bridge could open the region to trade, transport and tourism that have long remained out of reach.