Foundation stone laid for motorable bridge on Mahakali River in Darchula

Ganesh Singh Dhami

Khalanga : Construction of a motorable bridge over Mahakali River in Darhula district made headway after a foundation stone was recently laid for the same.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Dilendra Prasad Badu and on the behalf of government of India, Uttarakhand State’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami jointly laid a foundation stone for the bridge that links Asigada in Mahakali Municipality-8 in Darchula district with India’s Pithauragadh district’s Malla Charchum.

Darchula is the district that borders with India and China. The motorable bridge, thus, is expected to pave path for trilateral trade. It is for the first time a motorable bridge connecting Nepal with India is going to be built in Sudurpaschim Province’s hilly area. Earlier, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in Terai area of Sudurpaschim Province had such bridges.

Initiatives to build similar bridge in Darchula were taken some three decades ago, said Minister Badu, expressing his confidence that the soon-to-be-built bridge would further strengthen cross-border connections between Sudurpaschim Province in Nepal and Uttarakhand State.

The bridge to be built by the Indian side spans 110 metre in length. The bridge would facilitate in international trade of local agricultural production, herbal medicines, metal and raw materials found in Darchula, viewed District Coordination Committee, Darchula Chief Mahadev Badu.

Mahakali Municipality Mayor Narsingh Chaisir was hopeful that the bridge would be important to further strengthen socio-economic and religious ties between Nepal and India besides facilitating trade with India and China. The bridge is also expected to promote religious tourism in Sudurpaschim Province, he opined.