The wall being constructed at the airport of Manmaya Rai Khaniadhanda of Khotang, which was broken by soil erosion, has also been found to be quality less.
Heavy rain in last monsoon blocked the drainage that led water to be clogged in the runway which later burst and have started wearing out soils around the airport destructing the airport gradually.
Dip Narayan Rijal, Mayor of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality stated that the inspection was conducted after the objection was received about the quality of wall whereas the renovation work was delayed and though the renovation work was started it has been going on at slow pace.
After the inspection was done, the materials used in renovation work was found to be of bad quality.
“The sand used in the construction of wall, including construction materials, has been found to be less in quality,” he said.
Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) awarded the renovation work of the airport to Kancharam Construction and estimated the budget of NRs 7 crore.
Mayor Rijal said that the contractor company was asked to improve the quality through the phone and to complete the work in time. Kancharam Tamang, contractor has committed to maintain the quality of the materials.
Due to closure of Khanidanda Manamaya Airport, local people and tourist are facing difficulties in travelling.
The runway of Khanidanda airport was blacktopped 3 years ago. The clogged water in runway made its path from the side of the runway that has already eroded 10-15 meters of soil. Due to this, around 2-3 meter of runway had been eradicated and the restoration work was lately started.
The white marking in runway has also cracked and southern part of the airport has started destructing. According to locals, due to clogged drainage all the water flows from the runway and airport construction consumer committee said that the airport was in great risk of landslide.
The three airports of Khotang are currently out of operations. The blacktopping project are being carried out at Thamkharka airport and Lamidanda airport of Khotang.
The airport lies near district headquarter Diktel and the airport construction was started in 2060 with the help of land provided by locals in free and in 2062 Nepalese Army and Nepal Airlines made maiden flights in the airport.
