By Narendra Dhakal
Gorkha, July 21: The Daraudi River has washed away the road leading to the concrete bridge connecting Ajirkot and Barpak Sulikot rural municipalities from Baluwa again. This is the second time this week the road has been swept away by the flooded river.
The first time the road was swept away, the authorities tried to divert the river to Barpak Sulikot. But the people there did not let them, according to Rajesh Yadav, acting head of the 11-kilometer Chhevetar - Bhaluswara Barpak Road Project.
“Because they did not let us divert the river, we filled the swept away area with mud and opened the road to traffic. However, the river again flooded and washed away the filled mud too,” he said.
Yadav said that the Daraundi River originally flowed through Jholunge, Saurpani, Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality-4. The project wanted to divert the river to restore its original flow but the locals of Jholunge protested.
Bhim Bahadur Gurung, chairman of Barpak Sulikot Ward No. 4, supported the project’s efforts to divert the river back to its original place. “Maybe the locals fear that the water will cause landslides. I will try talking to them again,” he said. “They cannot cause such obstructions.”
Bishnu Prasad Bhatta, chairman of Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality, had visited the area a few days ago and tried to convince the people but to no avail.
Jung Bahadur Gurung, chairman of Ajirkot Ward No. 4, asked the people of Jholunge to not take such an unjustified stand. He also asked the rural municipality and the ward office to facilitate the diversion of the river.
Meanwhile, with the road swept away, traffic across the bridge has stopped, causing great difficulty to people of both the rural municipalities.