India’s Foreign Ministry will build two new bridges along the Indo-Nepal border in Uttarakhand, sources said. The construction of these bridges is believed to improve trade relations between India and Nepal. Sources said that the the Government of India has written a letter to the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and has given its approval to build the bridges.
The construction of two bridges has been approved by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. Sources said that one bridge will be built in Jhulaghat and the other bridge will be built in Shirsha. The Ministry of External Affairs will fund the bridges. It is learnt that the Uttarakhand government has been asked to submit the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Ministry of External Affairs in this regard.
There is currently a bridge between the two countries in Uttarakhand, through which one can travel only by motorcycle. PWD Secretary Pankaj Pandey said that correspondence has been sent to higher officials in this regard. The path to build these bridges was cleared earlier also, when Nepal’s PM came to India and discussed this issue with PM Modi.
He said that the construction of these bridges in Uttarakhand will greatly benefit both the countries commercially. There is regular movement of people from Nepal in districts like Pithoragarh and Champawat of Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand shares its border with Nepal. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Parvati Kund and Jageshwar Temples in the Kumaon region of the state near the border with Nepal and China.
It can be recalled that in September last year, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami laid the foundation stone of a motor bridge on the Kali river that flows between India and Nepal. Dhami had then said that the bridge will further strengthen the ties between the two countries.
