Uttarakhand CM Dhami lay foundation stone of motor bridge over river Kali connecting Nepal
Listen to this articleUttarakhand CM Dhami lay foundation stone of motor bridge over river Kali connecting Nepal
B.D.Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, Sept 18
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, today laid the foundation stone of a motor bridge on river Kali at Indo-Nepal border in Charchum village of Dharchula sub- division of Pithoragarh district.
Lauding the traditional friendship between India and Nepal, Chief Minister said that this bridge will strengthen the friendship between both the countries .”Nepal is the nation that is most close to Indian society and economy.” said Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The 110 meters span motor bridge will be the first in the district and second in the state after the Banbasa town of Champawat district.”The bridge will be constructed in 12 months time at a cost of Rs. 32.98 crore by P&R Infrastructure Ltd Chandigarh, a private contractor,” said Anand Ballabh Kandpal, Superintending Engineer (SE) , Public Works Department (PWD).
According to the engineer, the 110 meters long bridge will be 10.50 meters wide with a carriageway of 7.5 meters and two lane footpaths on both sides.” The design of the bridge has been approved by an expert’s team from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) New Delhi, who visited the spot along with officers of India and Nepal some months ago to finalise it ,”said the superintending engineer.
With construction of this bridge, the people from this part of Indo-Nepal border, from either countries, will be able to cross over in motor vehicles from near to their home.”At present, the people have to travel 530 km from here to Banbasa, to enter into into Nepal on motor vehicles,” said the PWD, SE.
“With the first motor bridge joining India and Nepal, in the district, the district is already connected by 8 suspension bridges for pedestrians of each country to enter into each other’s country,” said Ashish Chauhan, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh.
The Nepali portion of the motor bridge was laid down by Delendra Prasad Badu, Commerce Minister of Nepal on the Nepalese side of the bridge.
