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Kathmandu Tuesday June 19, 2001 Ashadh 05, 2058.
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Tanakpur-Mahendranagar
0linkroad construction delayed
By Chitranga Thapa
MAHENDRANAGAR, June 18 - Much awaited
13 km long road connecting Tanakpur barrage, India, and the East-West
Highway near the Mahendranagar municipality has not been kicked off
because of the delay in the high level bilateral negotiation between
Nepal and India.
According to the agreement reached
between Nepal and India on the Mahakali Treaty in 1996, the road is
supposed to be constructed with the Indian assistance.
As an integral part of the treaty,
Nepal has already received 70 million units of energy from the
Indian-built 120 megawatts Tanakpur hydel project.
Sources closed to the Road Division
Office said that India’s state controlled Rights Consultancy
completed the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the road and submitted
it to both the sides last year in March.
The source claimed that the Indianside
also sent an official letter to the Nepali authorities to hold
negotiation in connection with the project about four months ago.
When will the construction of the road
start is uncertain as both sides have not come to the negotiating
table to finalise an agreement to this effect since the Indian
proposal.
A high level official from the Indian
embassy, who visited this area some time ago, had said that India was
ready to build the road, but it was delayed because of the Nepali
side. He said the Nepaliside had not fulfilled its responsibilities of
acquiring land for the road and its compensation in time.
"Once we receive Nepal’s green
signal, we will start our work," he said, adding that the Indian
government had already allocated budget and appointed its consultant
for the road.
The Nepaliside, on the other hand, is
in no way ready to accept the Indian claim that the land acquisition
and compensation issues were the only reasons behind the delay in
constructing the road.
Chief of the Road Division Office,
Bhupendra Chandra Bhatta, claimed that 79 bighas (132 acres) of land
had been acquired for the road and all necessary legal procedures
fulfilled.
The proposed road will link the
national highway at Bhasi near the Mahendranagar municipality from the
frontier Indian Market of Tanakpur via Brahmadev Mandi and some wards
of the municipality.
Bhatta said an estimated amount of Rs
83 million will be required for the compensation to the locals to be
affected by the proposed road.
Bhatta, however, said that the
compensation was being distributed on installment basis. According to
the official statement, only Rs 27.2 million was compensated to the
affected families during the fiscal year 1999/2000.
Once the much awaited link road is
completed, this will be one of the alternative roads linking the two
countries from this far- western plain district of Kanchanpur.
Currently, public vehicles are allowed
to move across the Nepal-India border via Gadda Chauki-Banbasa road,
which is opened only for three times a day. People, specially from
Nepali frontier town of Brahmadev Mandi, are concerned over the delay
of the road construction.
"Future of this frontier town is
related with this road," said a local, Keshav Chand. He said the
Indian government had started its activities for the construction of
the road last year in October. But work has now been postponed without
any reason, Chand said.
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