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The local patients have to suffer due to the delay in reconstructing the bridge connecting Gularia and Barbardia municipality.

Although three spans of the bridge were swept away by the flood that occurred on October 8, 22, it has not yet been reconstructed. Residents are forced to use boats to travel.

35-year-old Ram Subedi of Gularia Municipality-2 Panditpur takes his 65-year-old mother Pabitra Subedi to the hospital two days a week for dialysis. Subedi says that he is having trouble taking his mother to the hospital for treatment after the bridge collapsed. He has been taking his  mother to Nepalgunj Medical College Kohalpur for dialysis for four years now. Taking the route through Jabdighat to reach Kohalpur for treatment is shorter. However, they are forced to travel by boat because of the unrepaired bridge which is a more dangerous option. Subedi said that they would miss dialysis if they could not reach Kohalpur in time.

31-year-old Samjhana Gyawali of Barbardia Municipality-3 said that she goes to Bardia Hospital for health check-up and treatment. She said that she  has faced numerous problems due to the unrepaired bridge. She also mentioned that she had to go to the hospital for treatment by crossing the river on a boat. A five-minute journey takes more than half an hour.

Subedi and Gyawali are only representative characters. Many other  patients and their families have been facing similar problems.

Two spans of the bridge were washed away on August 13, 2017, without handing over the 425 meter bridge which was constructed at a cost of Rs. 16,67,00,000.

Even though the span of the bridge was broken, small vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and cars were passing through the bridge easily.However, after the flood on October 8 swept away three spans of the bridge, the vehicle movement was completely closed.

Lal Bahadur Chaudhary, Ward Chairperson of Barbardia Municipality-5, says that construction has not been completed even in seven years.

He said that even though ministers and parliamentarians came and assured to build the bridge, the bridge has not been built till date.CDI Niraj Shakya of Road Division Office, Nepalgunj has sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance to ensure resources for building the bridge. However, construction work could not go ahead because the ministry did not secure the resources.

Chhabilal Tharu,the Chief of Barbardiya Municipality had a discussion with the Director General of the Roads Department regarding the bridge construction. According to him, the department has conveyed that the construction process for the bridge is in progress.

Tharu said that despite,the paperwork has moved forward through Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development ,the construction has been stopped because the Ministry of Finance has not allocated the budget.

Barbardia Municipality has contracted Rs 22,00000 for boat operation.People have to pay Rs.15 for motorcycles, Rs.10 for bicycles and Rs 10 for individual while traveling by boat. More than 1,000 people, including patients, students, employees, teachers, travel by boat every day.

Prakash Poudel