The local contractors from Kalinjor, Shreepur and Laukat VDC  had obstructed the representatives of the

construction company from submitting the original documents after failing to bag the contract to build an office building for a Village Development Committee in the district. They complained that a construction company from outside the district should not be awarded the tender.

The DTO had issued a notice calling the contractor company to submit the original documents within a week.

However, the local contractors with around 100 supporters gathered at the DTO had prevented representatives

of the company from submitting the documents on the last day.

Secretary Arun Kunwar of the District Construction Entrepreneurs’ Association said that they had staged the demonstration to prevent the construction company from submitting the original documents as the latter had gone against the “traditional bidding process” by participating in the tender bids from another district.

“We also aim to make an example out of this and discourage such practice altogether,” Kunwar said.

Meanwhile, Amit Sah of Shiva Parbati Constructions said that such obstructions were surprising as the e-bidding procedure had been accepted nationwide and the very essence of the procedure was that anyone could participate in the tender, removing monopoly of a certain group.

Accusing the DTO officials of working in collusion with the local contractors, Sah complained that they had not even been provided necessary security. Furthermore, Sah even went on to accuse the DTO of inciting the local contractors as the officials had refused to register the documents even after the representatives of his company reached the office.

Chief Lalit Neupane of the DTO, however, claimed that although e-bidding process was adopted to maintain transparency, some construction entrepreneurs “are working to make the system a failure”.

Shifting the blame to security agencies for not being able to provide proper security, Neupane said that they were not in a position to do anything with regards to the matter.