The incomplete construction of the maternity home building in Sayal Rural Municipality-1, Chhapali, has long caused inconvenience to pregnant women, new mothers, and other service seekers. Due to the absence of a proper building, the health post has been providing all types of services from an old zinc-roofed structure damaged by the earthquake, said Poonam Bhatt, in charge of Chhapali Health Post. Punam Bhatta, in-charge of the health post said they have been forced to provide services from a dilapidated building due to the delay in the construction. As a result, women seeking maternity services have been compelled to travel to other areas, facing significant inconvenience. Although Bhairav Shakti Nirman Sewa took a contract worth Rs 4,080,719 on February 20, 2022, to complete the building by mid-July 2023, the construction remains unfinished.
Ward Chairperson of Sayal Rural Municipality-1, Lal Bahadur Rokaya, stated that the issue of the maternity home construction was raised in the rural municipality’s executive meeting, but no action was taken. He added that local workers involved in the construction have not been paid wages amounting to Rs 1,116,055. Shiva Khadka, the Proprietor of Bhairav Shakti Nirman Sewa, stated that although the construction company submitted a bill of Rs 32,00,000 for expenses incurred during the construction, the rural municipality only paid Rs 21,00,000 due to budget constraints, which prevented them from completing the remaining construction work. Khadka mentioned that if the rural municipality had paid the full amount as per the bill, they would have been able to pay the workers their due wages.
Sayal Rural Municipality Chairman Dharmaraj Joshi stated that despite repeated correspondence with Bhairav Shakti Nirman Sewa, the contractor remained out of contact for a long time. Furthermore, the construction work, which was meant to be completed with the provincial budget, was not finished on time as agreed. Even though the rural municipality took on the responsibility and provided the necessary funds, the work still fell behind schedule. Joshi assured that the rural municipality will complete the construction in the upcoming fiscal year.