On Tuesday, India and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a motorable bridge over the Mahakali River, with Indian grant support, connecting Dharchula in Uttarakhand and Darchula in Nepal.
According to a statement published by the Indian Embassy here, the MoU was signed in the presence of Transport Minister Renu Kumari Yadav by the Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal’s Secretary, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Rabindra Nath Shrestha. According to knowledgeable sources at the Ministry of Transport, India will shoulder the entire cost of the bridge’s construction, and a thorough project report for the bridge has already been produced.
They also stated that bridge construction will begin soon. The bridge would improve cross-border connectivity between Nepal’s Sudurpaschim region and Uttarakhand’s Uttarakhand province, which is separated by the Mahakali river and has strong people-to-people ties on both sides of the border.
“This is in accordance with both governments’ shared aim of expanding cross-border connectivity to streamline commercial, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges,” according to the statement. The Indian government approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries for the construction of the bridge in January.
Anurag Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, has stated that the bridge will be built in three years.
As close neighbors, India and Nepal share unique connections of friendship and collaboration marked by an open border and deep-rooted kinship and cultural contacts, according to Thakur. According to Indian officials, the 110-meter bridge will be the second motor bridge on the India-Nepal border in Uttarakhand. The Banbasa bridge, on the other hand, is located in the Champawat district.
