09 Feb, 2021
By Laxman Poudel Rising Nepal
Bhairahawa, Feb. 9: Siddharthanagar Municipality in the district, with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has made a big stride towards constructing various roads.
The ADB has selected Siddharthanagar, along with Biratnagar Metropolitan City, Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City and Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City in 2012 to provide grants and concessional loans for the management and upgradation of their roads, sewers and drains under its five-year Integrated Urban Development Project (IUDP).
As the project neared completion, the municipality was found to have out-performed all the other local levels, for which it was awarded.
“Under the IUDP programme, Siddharthanagar has constructed 10- kilometres-long road, which is six-metres wide at the narrowest section and 25-metre wide at the widest,” informed Senior Engineer Shailendra Prasad Shrestha, chief of the project, adding, “The municipality blacktopped 25 kilometres of unpaved road, in addition to the construction of 12 kilometres-long drains alongside sewers.”
Currently, the Regional Urban Development Project (RUDP), also supported by ADB, is in implementation phase, under which 37 kilometres of roads have been tarred and widened.
Drains have also been constructed alongside the roads to channel away the excess water. The RUDP is primarily focused on developing road infrastructures in the inner parts of the city.
The municipality has also blacktopped 10 kilometres of roads utilising its own resources.
With these construction, the condition of its roads and streets have visibly improved. They are no longer dusty and muddy, adding to the beauty of the municipality.
“I feel that the city dwellers now don’t have to walk along the dusty road at least until I am in office,” said Mayor Hari Prasad Adhikari, adding, “We were able to achieve this as we extensively focused on implementing the project as efficiently and effectively as we could. Resources were scarce but we were, and still are, determined to develop the city.”
The total amount allocated for road and drainages under IUDP and RUDP is Rs. 3.29 billion. Of the Rs. 910 million earmarked under the former, only 55 per cent is borne by the ADB. The Government of Nepal is bearing 25 per cent, the Municipal Development Fund 15 per cent and the municipality five per cent.
Similarly, the ADB is also providing concessional loans to be repaid by the federal government at five per cent interest rate.
Likewise, 71 per cent of the Rs. 2.38 billion earmarked under RUDP will be borne by ADB, 22.8 per by the government and 6.2 per cent by the municipality.
माघ २७ गते, २०७७ मा प्रकाशित
