Home Minister Sudhan Gurung has directed the staff of the Department of Roads to immediately move ahead with the construction of the Phurke Khola bridge, the crossing that connects the area to Dhadingbesi, after voicing concern over the delays holding up the project. Gurung issued the directive on Saturday, when he stopped in Dhading while travelling to Gorkha and met local residents who complained about the slow pace of the bridge work. His secretariat said the instruction was issued with the aim of speeding up the project, as reported by Nagarik News.

Gurung's on-the-spot directive in Dhading

The Home Minister was on his way to Gorkha when he halted in Dhading on Saturday. During the visit, he met residents of the area and listened as they detailed their grievances about the Phurke Khola (also spelled Furke Khola) bridge, which links their locality to Dhadingbesi, the headquarters of Dhading district.

The complaints from the locals centred on the slow pace of construction. In response, Gurung expressed concern over the delays in the work and directed the employees of the Department of Roads to proceed with the bridge's construction immediately. His secretariat later confirmed that the instruction had been issued specifically to expedite the project.

Residents press their case with the minister

The stopover gave local residents a direct audience with one of the government's most senior figures, and they used it to press their concerns about a bridge that has yet to be completed. Their message, according to reporting of the visit, was that work on the crossing had moved too slowly for too long.

Bridges that connect settlements to a district headquarters carry particular weight in Nepal's hill districts, where river crossings can shape how easily students reach schools, patients reach health facilities and farmers carry produce to market. Dhadingbesi, as the administrative centre of Dhading district, draws people from surrounding villages for services ranging from banking to government offices, which is why delays on a link like the Phurke Khola bridge are felt across daily life in the area.

It was against this backdrop that Gurung, pausing in the district during his journey to Gorkha, responded to the grievances not with general assurances but with a direct instruction to the staff of the Department of Roads to advance the construction without further delay.

Key points from Saturday's visit

  • Who: Home Minister Sudhan Gurung, during a stop in Dhading while travelling to Gorkha.
  • What: He directed Department of Roads staff to immediately proceed with the construction of the Phurke Khola bridge.
  • Why: Local residents complained about the slow pace of the work, and the minister expressed concern over the delays.
  • The aim: His secretariat said the instruction was issued to speed up the project.

Spotlight falls on the Department of Roads

With the directive issued, attention now turns to the Department of Roads, the government agency responsible for building and maintaining Nepal's road and bridge infrastructure. The minister's instruction leaves the department with a clear expectation that the Phurke Khola bridge, which connects the locality to Dhadingbesi, will move into construction without the hold-ups that residents described during the meeting.

For the residents who raised the issue with Gurung, the expectation following Saturday's intervention is that the directive translates into visible progress on the ground. The Home Minister's secretariat has framed the instruction as an effort to accelerate the project, and the staff of the Department of Roads have been told to act on it immediately.

The episode also reflects how journeys by senior ministers through the provinces increasingly serve as occasions for communities to flag pending development works directly to the country's top leadership. In this case, a brief stop in Dhading on the way to Gorkha produced a firm instruction on a bridge that local people have been waiting to see built, placing the responsibility for its timely completion squarely with the roads officials who received the order.