High-level Nepal Army team inspects Mahakali guide bund reconstruction progress

Kanchanpur: High-level officials of the Nepal Army inspected the four-lane concrete bridge guide bund being reconstructed by the army on the Mahakali River in Kanchanpur on Thursday.

With the aim of reducing possible disasters caused by monsoon floods in the Mahakali River, the Nepal Army has temporarily expedited the reconstruction of the guide bund at Bhimdatta Municipality-12. A military team led by Manoj Thapa, Director of War Affairs at the Nepal Army’s War Affairs Directorate, inspected the progress of the reconstruction and gathered information about the ongoing work.

The inspection team included Brigadier General Bijit Raj Regmi, Commander of the 25th Brigade, Major General Prakash Ghimire, Commander of the Ransingh Dal, and Gulmapati Senar Ashok Shahi, Commander of the Barahadal. The team instructed the army personnel and the officials of the Road Division Office to speed up reconstruction work as the monsoon season approaches.

Last year, the government had declared the area a ‘crisis zone’ for three months to protect the guide bund structure on the northern side of the Mahakali Bridge from flooding. After floods damaged around 300 meters of the guide bund last year, the Nepal Army was assigned responsibility for minimizing potential damage and disasters in the coastal area during floods. More than 400 army personnel are currently engaged in the work.

The Shree No. 25 Bahini Adda Bhagatpur Barracks of the Nepal Army stated that more than 80 percent of the reconstruction work on the 300-meter guide bund has been completed. The guide bund is being reconstructed with the manpower support of the army and managerial assistance from the Road Division Office.

The Nepal Army said its team was deployed after the government requested the army to reconstruct the area to minimize possible damage during the monsoon. According to the 25th Brigade Headquarters, reconstruction work has been accelerated to prevent immediate damage at the site, avoid further destruction, protect the four-lane bridge and safeguard nearby settlements.

The Nepal Army has assigned coordination responsibility for the reconstruction to Brigadier General Regmi of the 25th Brigade Headquarters. Although 95 percent of the construction work on the four-lane bridge has been completed, the construction company had withdrawn from the project last year due to confusion over approval of the new guide bund design and issues related to the Variation Order (VO).