Mahendranagar. It is estimated that Rs 20 crore will be required to reconstruct the historic Dodhara-Chandani suspension bridge in Kanchanpur. In the second week of September, a pillar of the suspension bridge over the Mahakali river collapsed and other parts of the bridge were also damaged. A technical team led by Kamal Kumar Adhikari, Deputy Director General of Suspension Bridge Division from Kathmandu, has studied the damage to the bridge.

Deputy Director General Adhikari said that they have submitted a report to the Department of Local Infrastructure Development along with the details of the damage to the bridge and the cost to be incurred for the reconstruction.

The team concluded that the damage was worth Rs 7 crore and submitted a report to the department. He said that Rs 20 crore will be required for the reconstruction of the bridge.

“There has been a loss of seven crore rupees. A report has already been prepared and submitted that it will cost twenty crores for the reconstruction. “We are ready to work if the budget is allocated according to the plan,” said Deputy Director General Adhikari. He said that the reconstruction can be started only after the water flow in the Mahakali river recedes. “The soil test will be done only after the water dries up. “The work can be started only in winter,” he said. ’

He said that if the budget is managed, the bridge will be completed within a year of the reconstruction. According to the technical team, along with the collapsed pillars of the bridge, two more pillars on the right and left sides of the bridge are also in a weak condition. Due to the construction of a four-lane concrete bridge two and a half kilometers north of the suspension bridge, the traffic of Dodhara Chandani has not been completely affected. Meanwhile, the Far-Western Provincial Government has allocated a budget of Rs 10 million for the reconstruction of the Dodhara Chandni suspension bridge.