Myagdi: Kaligandaki flooding puts Doba road bridge at risk, six local units get first-phase grant

The Bhirkate suspension bridge connecting Doba village, on the border of wards 6 and 1 of Annapurna Rural Municipality in Myagdi, has been put at risk by erosion from the Kaligandaki River. The access road on the Bhirkate side of this Bailey bridge, which carries vehicles from the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road to Doba, has been washed away by the river.

Currently only one-way traffic is running on the bridge, forcing Doba residents to take risks to travel. The bridge was built about two decades ago at local demand when the Beni-Jomsom road was opened.

According to Annapurna Rural Municipality Deputy Chair Diwa Kumari Tilija Pun, since the bridge falls under the Department of Roads, responsibility for repair lies with the department. She said the rural municipality has informed the district disaster management committee about the damage.

Meanwhile, the government has sent first-phase grants to six local units in Myagdi that were declared disaster-affected. According to Chief District Officer Ganesh Gaire, about 4 million rupees has been sent to each municipality through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority for essential disaster management work.

After continuous rainfall from Asoj 8 to 11, the government had declared Beni Municipality and Annapurna, Raghuganga, Mangala, Malika and Dhaulagiri rural municipalities as disaster-affected areas on Asoj 22. CDO Gaire said budget would be provided according to procedure for the reconstruction plans requested by the local units.