April 17: The construction of the Nagdhunga Tunnel has been halted for five days due to the obstruction created by the locals. The construction of the project has become uncertain after locals affected by the project staged protests demanding compensation for land, construction of blacktopped road, and a football stadium. Locals residing towards Kathmandu from the project site also vandalized the project office.

Locals of Totipakha in Kathmandu to the east side of the tunnel started protest on April 11 stating that their demands have not been met. Japanese construction company Hajma Ando Corporation stopped work after locals of Chandragiri Municipality-2 attacked the project office following a protest. Project Chief Nareshman Shakya said that the company has demanded action against the culprits and will stop work until security is guaranteed.

He said that the construction work has been stopped now, and the construction itself is uncertain. On Sunday (today), the District Administration Office invited the project officials and the locals for discussion. Shakya said that the construction can be started only if there is an agreement, or it will remain uncertain. "We will not work until we get security assurance," Shakya said.

More than 500 Nepalese and Japanese workers were working in the tunnel. He said that the Japanese company has been claiming Rs 15 million daily in fines since April 11 for the onstruction in construction work. Nepal has to pay the amount daily due to obstruction in the project being constructed with the help of Japanese loan.

"The state has a to incur a daily loss of Rs 15 million for 10 tankers of water," he said, adding that the amount claimed by the company has reached Rs 75 million as of Saturday. The construction company claimed that the amount should be paid by Nepal.

Although the construction works were delayed due to Covid-19, the company has been digging 10 meters of tunnel of late. The project deadline has been extended for three months due to a halt in work because of Covid-19.

The locals claim that the water level in the area has dropped due to the project and have also demanded proper management of water.

Shakya claimed that the decline in water level was due to drought. Nevertheless, the project was planning to provide 5 tankers of water to the locals daily. “However, they suddenly came and vandalized the office,” said Shakya, adding, “Besides, they have made demands unrelated to the project. The project cannot meet those demands. The demand within the project will be addressed,” said Shakya.'

The project had agreed to distribute water, but now the locals are demanding that water pipes be installed in every house, said Shakya.

To address the demand of the locals for connecting the pipeline through the municipality, a budget has been requested from the Ministry of Finance. "Rs 800,000 has been disbursed for this purpose alone on Friday," said Shakya.

At present, the tunnel work is 48 percent complete. As the finishing work has been taken along with it, about 36 percent of the work of the project has been completed. According to Shakya, the problem of land compensation in Balambu has been resolved by 70 percent and now the locals are demolishing private houses.

Shakya claims that the project has been fulfilling the reasonable demands of the locals based on their information. However, he clarified that the demands that do not fall within the scope of the project cannot be addressed just because they resort to vandalism.

The project is being undertaken with the concessional loan provided by the Government of Japan. The total investment for the project is estimated to be around Rs 22 billion. JICA will invest Rs 16 billion while the Government of Nepal will contribute Rs 6 billion.

The tunnel will be of 2.7 kilometers long and will have two flyovers. The project will also cover 3 kilometers of road.

The Thankot-Naubise road section is currently 9 kilometers long. The distance will be shortened to 5.7 kilometers once the tunnel is constructed.

The foundation stone of the project was laid on October 21, 2019. As per the agreement signed with the Department of Roads, the contractor must complete the  project within 42 months.