KATHMANDU: Construction and maintenance of roads of the Kathmandu Valley are continuing during the lockdown.
Blacktopping and construction of road structures at Dhohahiti-Lele, Karmanasha Khola-Godawari Kunda, Imadol-Lamatar and Jorpati-Sundarijal have started, said the sources at Valley road expansion project.
Construction is going on at Chapagaun-Dholahiti, Takhel-Lele, Sundarijal-Jorpati, said the project chief Guru Adhikari. Works like removing trees along the project site, setting up hume pipes and construction of pathways are underway, he said.
Of 67 trees along the routes to be chopped down for the construction, only 58 have been removed so far.
Electricity should be discontinued to remove the trees. But the Nepal Electricity Authority is denying shutting down electricity system, saying online classes are ongoing following the closure of educational institutions due to lockdown, said Adhikari.
Works continue in the Imadol-Lamatar road section amid the lockdown albeit not in full swing. Hume pipes were being laid in this road section while the pedestrian belt was being built on Godawari road section. Among three contracts related to roads, works have been forwarded for two projects.
All the construction works were being carried out with whatever construction materials and human resources available. There would be no way to add up human resources and other construction materials if the lockdown continued and supply of those materials halted.
Construction materials for these projects were brought from Lele in Lalitpur and Dolaldghat in Kavreplanchowk but currently, these projects face a shortage of construction materials due to prolonged lockdown.
Most of the human resources involved in the project went their home resulting in impediment to the projects. He said, “We have been mobilizing the daily wagers available in Kathmandu. We could not bring in laborers from outside of the Valley at this time.”
The project had aimed to blacktop 8 kilometers and lay physical infrastructures on the 25 kilometers road in the current fiscal year.
Although progress was achieved partially in these projects, the target could not be achieved, according to him. The problems in transportation coupled with constraints in the supply of materials hit these projects from achieving timely completion. “We have not got adequate vehicle permit pass to come regularly at work and to bring in construction materials,” he explained.
The road widening drive targeting 10 roads, including four in Kathmandu, five in Lalitpur and one in Bhaktapur had begun in the Kathmandu Valley in 2072 BS. The project also includes the construction of two bridges.
Among them, the Tripureshwor-Kalanki-Nagdhunga road has been already upgraded and finishing works are underway. Few portions are left to be blacktopped along the Chabahil-Sankhu road. Among the two bridges, the Dhobikhola bridge based in Bijuli Bazar had already come into operation while the Tinkune-based Bagmati bridge sub-project is still in limbo.
It was agreed to widen the six-seven meters long roads to 20-22 meters. Owners of the houses adjoining to roadways have demanded compensation from the government for the loss caused by the expansion. It said the project was delayed due to the compensation dispute and slow progress in the removal of trees, electric poles and other infrastructures on the road.
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