Bailey Bridge over Sunkoshi River Comes into Operation

A bailey bridge over the Sunkoshi River at Phoksingtar along the Diktel–Gaighat road section of the Sagarmatha Highway has come into operation.

The bridge was installed after flooding washed away the motorable concrete bridge in the last week of September 2024. The damaged bridge connected Lichkiramche in Khotehang Rural Municipality–9 of Khotang with Aaptar in Rautamai Rural Municipality–5 of Udayapur.

With the temporary bridge now operational, direct transport along the Diktel–Gaighat road has resumed. The route reconnects Diktel, the headquarters of Khotang, with eastern Tarai districts that had remained cut off for nearly six months.

Earlier, vehicles were forced to take the longer Ghurmi–Katari route.

Ramkumar Hingmang, general secretary of the Khotang Transport Company, said the temporary bridge would reduce travel time by around three hours.

However, he stressed that the bridge is only a short-term solution and urged the authorities to expedite work on a permanent structure.

(With inputs from RSS)