India, Nepal sign MoU to construct bridge over Mahakali river

BSS/PTI, Kathmandu :

India and Nepal on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for construction of a motorable bridge with the Indian grant assistance over the Mahakali River connecting Dharchula in Uttarakhand with Darchula in Nepal.  
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal’s Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Rabindra Nath Shrestha signed the MoU in presence of Transport Minister Renu Kumari Yadav, according to a statement issued by the Indian Embassy here. India will bear all the cost of constructing the bridge and preparation of detailed project report for the bridge has already been completed, said informed sources at the Ministry of Transport. They added that the construction work of the bridge will start soon. The bridge will enhance cross-border connectivity between the Sudurpaschim province of Nepal and Uttarakhand across the Mahakali river where close people-to-people links exist between communities on both sides of the border.
 “This is in line with the priority shared by both the governments to expand cross-border connectivity for streamlining commercial, cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” the statement said. In January, the Indian government had approved signing of the MoU between the two countries for construction of the bridge.Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur had said that the bridge will be completed within three years.
Thakur had said as close neighbours, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture. The 110-metre bridge will be the second motor bridge on the India-Nepal border in Uttarakhand, according to Indian officials. The other one, the Banbasa bridge, is situated in the Champawat district.