Kathmandu [Nepal], October 18 (ANI): For weeks after the flood in the Trishuli River tore through Nuwakot, disconnecting communities, the only way across was the zip-line, locally called Tuin.
Residents clung to the makeshift zip-line, hauling themselves and their belongings across the swollen river, which had swept away two bridges in a matter of minutes.
With their lives hanging in the balance, the crossing over the river carried the weight of necessity, mixed with quiet fear and hours of waiting. But that chapter of daring crossings is now nearing its end.
A new suspension bridge stretching about 268 metres has reopened a route, ensuring seamless movement across the river. In the absence of this bridge, anyone facing an emergency would have to take the longer route, stretching about 40 kilometres, to reach the main highway from the other side of the Trishuli area.
This new route has restored steady, safe access, lifting the daily strain that had turned an emergency stopgap into an exhausting routine.
“The construction of this bridge in a very short period has brought relief to the people. It has drastically eased mobility. It has also helped the elderly, including fathers and mothers, as well as others, to commute,” Bharat Neupane, a resident of Trishuli, told ANI.
This suspension bridge linking Dhunge and Intake across the Trishuli River was opened to the public on October 16, turning what was once a precarious aerial commute into an ordinary walk again.
The floods severed links between the district headquarters and several densely populated areas, including Meghang and Kispang, some wards of Uttargaya Rural Municipality in neighbouring Rasuwa, and Tupté, Angutar and Bhairamkot in Bidur Municipality. Deurali, Samari, Deudi and Taksar in Nuwakot were also cut off. Residents of Satyadevi in Dhading, who rely on the same route, faced similar hardship.
“The situation has now eased and is more comfortable with the construction of the suspension bridge. When it was not here, people had to wait in queues in Indreni for hours. Now the situation has improved. This is a commendable move. We thank the builders’ association for it,” Harisharan Basnet, another local resident, told ANI as he walked across the bridge.
The construction project, carried out as a social undertaking, was led by Shailendra Raj Pyakurel, a local construction contractor from the district. However, some work, including the structures to allow motorcycles to cross, sections of the deck and wind-guide cables on both sides of the bridge intended to limit swaying, will be completed after Dashain.
The total cost is expected to reach NRs 17.5 million, far below the government’s estimate. (ANI)
From precarious cable to span: Suspension bridge restores life flow in flood-hit Nepal’s Nuwakot
