KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration said on Sunday that the government would finish displacing 148 cable contraptions ( also known as tuin in local language), by next fiscal year 2020/21 A.D.
“As of today, we have displaced 124 of 143 cable contraptions by trail bridges in various parts of the country,” Er. Kumar Thapa, Suspension Bridge Division Chief at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration said.
According to the Division of the MoFAGA, necessary construction works are underway to phase out the remaining 24 tuins, Thapa said.
The government had on October 12, 2015, announced that all cable contraptions would be gradually phased out.
“We have to displace five tuins along the Nepal-India border and out of the total, we need to have permissions to do so from the Indian officials for four cable contraptions,” Thapa said. Without developing coordination with the Indian officials, we cannot do so unilaterally, he said.
“A tuin displacement work at Pancheshwor hydel project side could not move ahead as we still need to get consent for it and which is getting delayed,” he said.
According to him, tender processes for four suspension bridges has already begun.
Five additional tuins were added out of 143 after the Division conducted field monitoring after local bodies in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs supported in doing so, he said.
The government has planned to announce the country tuin-free by January 14, 2021. But before this deadline, the Ministry would be able to meet the target, he said.
Nepal is home to more than 6,000 rivers and streams and most of them lack bridges. Many people have lost their lives while crossing the rivers using cable contraptions in the past, according to the MoFAGA.
The government has recently developed and implemented new rules on cable contraptions. The rules had come into force from January 14 after a notification published in the Nepal Gazette.
As per the rules, the concerned local levels shall have to displace the existing cable contraptions within two years from the commencement of these rules. If any accident occurs due to the construction of new cable contraptions, thereafter the concerned person, organization or agency shall be held accountable for this. The rules also prohibit the construction of new cable contraptions.
The MoFAGA has urged the concerned local levels to remove cable contraptions replacing them with suspension bridges.
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