Kathmandu, September 30
Nepali Congress leader Ramesh Lekhak has expressed concern over the collapse of the suspension bridge over the Mahakali River connecting Dodhara Chandani and Bhimdatta Municipality in Kanchanpur and urged the government and concerned authorities to begin reconstruction work as soon as possible.
Expressing concern over the difficulties caused to the daily lives and transportation connectivity of people in Dodhara Chandani following the collapse, Lekhak stressed the need to repair and reconstruct the bridge.
He made the remarks in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Lekhak said the bridge was not only important to Kanchanpur but also a historic structure in the development of suspension bridges in Nepal.
“This bridge, which directly connected Dodhara Chandani with the rest of the country at a time when the area had no road connectivity with other parts of the country, and people faced extremely difficult living conditions, is historic not only for Dodhara Chandani or Kanchanpur but for the entire country,” he wrote.
Lekhak also recalled that after he was first elected to the House of Representatives from Kanchanpur in 1999, he raised the issue in Parliament of constructing a suspension bridge over the Mahakali River to connect Dodhara Chandani with the rest of the country.
He recalled that some people had mocked the proposal at the time, saying that constructing a suspension bridge over the Mahakali River was impossible.
However, he said work on the bridge moved forward during the same period, resulting in the construction of a historic long suspension bridge with funding from the Government of Nepal and the involvement of Nepali technicians and contractors.
