Gyan Bahadur Tamang, from Sindhuli, has been working at the construction site of the under-construction Beni Hospital in Beni Municipality, Myagdi since June. However, he is still waiting for the contractor to pay his wages.

“There were around 20 workers working at the hospital construction site, but we didn’t get paid so now only two or three of us are left,” said Tamang. “The contractor owes me Rs35,000 in daily wages. Those who had money left, but I couldn’t because I am in debt back in the village. I can’t return without money to pay the shopkeepers.”

Although the site has run out of construction materials, Tamang and his co-workers have been waiting for the contractor to come to the site and clear their payments.

The old building of Beni has been demolished and since the new building is yet to be completed, the hospital staff are operating out of makeshift rooms in the vicinity of the hospital building.

The deadline for the completion of the 50-bed hospital building was December 6, 2019. But three and a half years after its missed deadline, the three-story hospital building spread over an area of 5,300 square metres has been left incomplete.

The central chairman of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal (FCAN), had signed the construction contract for the Beni Hospital project on January 5, 2017. The contract was signed by three parties—Mahadev Khimti Constructions, Galwa Construction Company and Rafina Constructions JV. However, delays in the release of payment by government authorities have led to the contractors leaving the construction and the workers in limbo.

Contractors in Nepal had halted work because of payment delays by government agencies due to a resource crunch. They have been protesting demanding their overdue payments, and seeking contract extensions and budget adjustments in line with inflation.

According to FCAN, the government owes contractors around Rs50 billion.

Following complaints from public representatives and regulatory bodies, Rafina Construction, the smallest partner in the construction contract, sent 15-20 labourers to the site in June. But the workers refused to work since the contractors were not paying their daily wages.

Santabir Lama, a resident of Timal in ward 3 of Rosi Rural Municipality, said that the site contractor and coordinator have gone out of contact since mid-August.

"Those who could afford to go home left. And there are a few of us left here waiting for payment,” said Lama.

According to Tulsiram Poudel, chief district officer of Myagdi, the workers have been told to file a petition to have their dues cleared by the contractors.

Meanwhile, the residents of Myagdi have been protesting against the apathy of the authorities and the contractors to the hospital construction work.

The locals, earlier, pasted posters and pamphlets, and hung banners with the fleeing contractors' photographs on the streets of Beni Municipality. But the work at the site did not resume.

Gopal Bhattachan, the FCAN-Myagdi chairman, said the contractors have refused to return to the construction site until their dues are cleared by government agencies.

According to officials at Beni Hospital, the new building would have been the most well-facilitated hospital in the area, with computerised tomography (CT) scans and ventilators among other advanced equipment. The old building was demolished and the new hospital building has been left incomplete depriving locals of crucial health services.

Bel Bahadur Katuwal, chairman of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myagdi, who is also a member of the Beni Hospital Management Committee, blames the FCAN for the inaction and alleged collaboration with the contractors.

“Currently, the hospital is providing very few services, and that too through makeshift tents on the old hospital premises. The hospital is referring patients to other hospitals for treatment," said Katuwal.

Published on: 13 September 2023 | The Kathmandu Post