Bardiya/dhading, Nov. 8 -- A pontoon bridge that lay unused for 13 years at Kothiyaghat in Bardiya district is being transported to Dhading for installation over the Trishuli river in Phurkekhola, where floods washed away a concrete bridge and disrupted travel between neighbouring local units.

The bridge reached Phurkekhola in Gajuri Rural Municipality-2 on Friday. It will be installed near the Jaladevi temple, linking Gajuri-2 with Siddhalek Rural Municipality-6. Floods on August 26 swept away the motorable bridge, leaving communities struggling to reach the district headquarters and the Prithvi Highway.

Jagadish Prasad Joshi, chief administrative officer of Gajuri Rural Municipality, said the loss of the bridge had severed direct link...