The government has replaced three ropeway crossings, locally known as Tuin, with suspension bridges since its announcement in October last year to replace over 350 Tuins.

Considering the poor state of Tuins joining remote villages and markets in mid-hills and mountainous districts due to lack of proper design and maintenance for years, the first Cabinet meeting under Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced the ambitious plan to replace all the Tuins with appropriate suspension bridges.

The Suspension Bridge Division at the Department of Local Development and Agricultural Roads has

set a target to complete the project of replacing 171 Tuins with suspension bridges by this October, said Kumar Thapa, project chief at the division.

“We will meet this year’s target and will replace the remaining Tuins next year. The plan is achievable as the country has developed its expertise in manufacture, construction and management of suspension bridges over the years,” Thapa said.

According to Thapa, nine wire crossings are in the process of being replaced, tender has been called for the construction of 42 suspension bridges and preparations of Detailed Project Report are in final stage for 101 more.

The Tuin is an indigenous technology used for river crossing and it has been in practice for transportation and movement of people in remote villages where the construction of bridges is almost impossible due to high cost and difficult terrain. An estimated 2,000 people still use wire crossings on daily basis in the country.