Local government leaders in Zhemgang raised concerns about restarting the construction of a bailey bridge over Chamkharchu in Shingkhar Gewog. The bailey bridge collapsed last December during its launch, which led to the death of a private engineer.
At the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu, local leaders from Shingkhar Gewog raised concerns about the long-delayed construction of the Zamdong bailey bridge over Chamkharchhu.
They urged the district administration to resume work on the 180-foot bridge without further delay, emphasising the need for efficiency and safety.
“It has been about three years, and the bridge remains incomplete, offering no benefit to our people. People have been asking us about the completion of a bridge, which is why we have brought up this issue in the DT meeting. Last time, an expert from the surface transport department visited here and told us that the bridge is not constructed efficiently and needs to be redone. Therefore, I would like to know when will the construction resume,” said Tshering Lhendup, Shingkhar Gup.
“We have a monitoring committee within our LG, district administration, and engineering cell that should periodically monitor the bridge construction standard. We must come up with concrete ideas to ensure that the contractor continues to work efficiently,” said Tashi, Phangkhar Gup.
In response, the district chief engineer explained that the bridge construction was delayed due to the pandemic.
Initially, the contract was to be awarded to the Construction Development Corporation Limited. However, since their bid was too high, it was opened to private companies instead.
According to the chief engineer, one of the companies, known for its strong track record in bridge construction, encountered a technical error that led to an incident during the final launch.
“During the launch, a few technical faults were identified during the load calculation process, which is a very important element, especially for a bailey bridge. Accurate calculation is crucial, and we felt that the team was overly confident, resulting in a mishap during the launch last year. However, we are now bringing a bridge expert from India and have developed a work plan to start the launch soon,” said Luv Kumar Chhetri, Chief Engineer, Zhemgang.
The bridge was dismantled in February this year and is now ready for relaunch.
Construction of the bailey bridge connecting Radi village, and the Shingkhar Gewog Centre began in early 2022 and was expected to be completed within 18 months.
The bridge is funded by the Small Development Project of the Government of India.
Pema Samdrup, Zhemgang
Edited by Sonam Pem
