A concrete motorable bridge under construction has started collapsing on the Myagdi River at Pakher on the border of Beni Municipality-4 and Mangala Village Municipality-3.
The 117-meter-long and 11-meter-wide bridge had a 35-meter-long spam (part) on the side of the bridge that collapsed on Tuesday. Dhan Bahadur Thapa, a resident of Pakher, said that the slopes of the other two spams were fine but the last slope was more than two inches above the surface on the right and left side of the center of the spam. He said that the bridge started sinking as it could not support the load of the slope.
The locals had stopped them on Wednesday while they were pouring sand and cement into the deep visible area. According to Birendra Man Shakya of Beni Municipality-4, Tatopani, doubts have been raised about the quality and sustainability of the bridge. "We have requested the Road Division, the district administration and the municipality to conduct technical research on the risk, quality and sustainability of the bridge in future use," he said.
Gopal Kumar Shah, an engineer of the construction company, claimed that the sidewalk would not be affected and said that the surface would be leveled when another slope is constructed. "The slope is set accordingly as it is pressed down," he said. There was no accident.” Top Bahadur Thapa, a technician at the Road Division Office, Baglung, who was present during the descent, also commented that this was a common issue. He said that the surface can be adjusted by making an additional 7 cm thick slope on the sidewalk. A team including engineers of the road division came to inspect the bridge today.
The Road Division Office, Baglung, had signed a contract worth Rs 220 million. Despite the target of completion on 9 January 2021, the contractor had delayed completion due to inability to mobilize sufficient equipment, labor, procurement of construction materials, epidemic of coronavirus and floods.
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