Along the K I Singh Highway alone, seven bridges are in a sorry state under the impact of yearly floodwaters. The floodwaters of the Luhakhadi, Koral and Golmagad rivers have damaged the bridge walls of Kalagad and Samuhagad bridges on K I Singh Highway. [break]
“The rivers are eroding the weak bridge foundations. For lack of budgets, we have not been able to fix the damage,” said Man Singh Dhami, an engineer at the Far Western Roads Division Office at Dipayal.
All the bridges on K I Singh Highway were constructed by a Korean company in 1990 while the Godavari bridge was built under American grant. “Previous damage was fixed temporarily. With the river flooding annually, there is a high risk of the bridges collapsing,” said Dhami.
Commenting on the situation, Birendra Sah, chief of the Doti branch the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, cited the practice of carrying out renovation only after the collapse of a bridge creates a grim scenario. “We have been seeking help from the authorities but they have never approached us with a solution,” said Sah.
Hikmat Chopda, chief of Saileshowri Transportation Organisation in Doti, spoke of the numerous hasstles arising from the sorry state of bridges and roads. “Accidents occur because the roads are all damaged and the bridges can´t be trusted, and in the end we are blamed for loss life,” said Chopda. “I don´t see anyone willing to renovate the roads and bridges. This is such a sad reality,” he added.
The bridge over the Seti river is also at risk of collapsing due to floodwaster.
The Far Western Roads Division has spoken of the extreme force of the Seti river flow pressing on three pillars of the bridge and the difficulty of diverting the water.
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