Tribeni Municipality remains disconnected from the national road network every rainy season due to lack of a permanent bridge over the Budhiganga river.

The local unit somehow operates transportation during the dry months by installing temporary wooden bridges over the river at Maure, Balde and Malagad areas. Such bridges are, however, both risky and costly. Every year, the municipality has been allocating a substantial budget for the construction of these temporary bridges which are eventually swept away by the river during the monsoon.

“The municipality spends around Rs3 million each year to build temporary wooden bridges in Maure, Balde and Malagad,” said Karna Bahadur Thapa, mayor Tribeni Municipality. “Over the past seven years, the municipality spent a total budget of Rs21 million on these bridges, which are washed away by the Budhiganga in the rainy season.”

There is not a single motorable bridge over the Budhiganga river to connect Tribeni Municipality with Sanphe-Martadi road, the nearest road section from Tribeni. Local representatives have no other alternative but to build temporary bridges in winter to facilitate transportation. They said they urged the authorities repeatedly to construct a permanent bridge over Budhiganga, a tributary of the Saptakarnali, in the area but to no avail.

Three years ago, the Mahakali Bridge Project under the Department of Roads signed an agreement with BKOI Builders Private Limited to construct a bridge over Budhiganga at Maure. The project agreement was signed at the cost of Rs 160 million. The construction company received Rs14 million as a mobilisation advance, but it has yet to start the work.

“The local unit does not have sufficient budget to independently fund the construction of a concrete motorable bridge. So all we can do is build temporary bridges to ease transportation. These bridges are risky, but we have no options. The motorable bridge construction has not begun yet due to the sheer negligence of the contractor,” said Thapa.

The construction of a motorable bridge over the Budhiganga river has long been a political agenda item of political parties and their candidates during federal, provincial and local elections. “I also prioritised bridge construction during the 2022 election. But the contractor’s failure to start the work has been a major headache for me,” said Thapa.

Residents of various settlements of Tribeni Municipality have been hugely affected by the lack of a permanent bridge over the Budhiganga river. They vent their frustration with federal, provincial and the local governments, as well as local officials over the delay in bridge construction.

“The leaders keep promising a motorable bridge, but there is no sign of building one anytime soon. Heavy vehicles cannot use the wooden bridges, so the local traders transport goods by using porters or pack animals. This significantly pushes the prices of essential goods,” said Niraj Aidi, a resident of ward 7 of Tribeni.

Pregnant women, elderly people, and those with medical emergencies are the hardest hit due to the lack of reliable transportation.

“It is very difficult to refer patients to well-facilitated hospitals during the rainy season. Patients must be carried on a stretcher up to Bamka Bazar, which takes around two to three hours. Pregnant women with delivery complications and those needing urgent care face life-threatening risks due to lack of bridge over the Budhiganga river,” said Rupa Chaudhary, auxiliary nurse midwife at Kailashmandau Health Post in ward 7 of Tribeni Municipality.