Entrepreneur exposed for delaying road construction

KATHMANDU: JULY 20 – A road construction entrepreneur has been exposed by sporting his photo and smearing it with soot for delaying the construction of the Beni-Darbang roadway. The construction of roadway contracted with Lama-Samanantar JV Company has been badly delayed.

Now, a flex-print photo of a Jip Chhiring Lama is hung on a roadside at Damara of Beni Municipality-6. The road is muddy. Lama, hailing from the Dolakha district, is the proprietor of the construction company.

Similarly, Achyut Kharel is the proprietor of Samanantar Construction Company. The official representative of the road construction project is Daya Ram Thapa.

It is however not disclosed who hung the photo exposing contractor. The recent term of contract extended twice expired last March. But the first package of Beni-Darbang roadway covering the Beni-Sim section has made only 55 per cent physical progress so far. The construction workers had stopped works after the enforcement of lockdown last April in the wake of the second wave of coronavirus.

The roadway is muddy and landslide debris piled up, causing much inconvenience to the people’s movement and transportation. The Lama-Samanantar JV company was contracted four years back to blacktop 12.5 km roadway at a cost of Rs 455 million. It was asked to accomplish the undertaking in 18 months.

The Infrastructure Development Office, Myagdi informed that there were now no conditions for the company to get its term extended for the road construction.

-RSS