BAGLUNG: With the construction of 13-km road from Nisikhola rural municiplaity-6, Patihalne to Bhume rural municipality-1, Rupaga of Eastern Rukum remaining incomplete, travel through the route has turned tougher.

The road construction has not been timely completed due to sheer ignorance on part of the contractor, it is said.

Nabin Kharal, information officer at the Mid-Hill Highway Office in Dailekh, told RSS that only 70 percent of the work has been completed so far though it was contracted to complete blacktopping by 26 May 2016.

Budget allocated for blacktopping the section under the highway was around Rs 43 million.

He shared that the contractor has been repeatedly instructed to complete the work as per the contract by extending the deadline multiple times. “Several vehicles are running on the Mid-Hill Highway. Hundreds of passengers travel this route daily. Preparations have been put in place for blacktopping from Patihal to Rupga. But, due to the absence of the contractor, even the structures that had been built have collapsed” said information officer Kharal.