Roads face risk as monsoon arrives in Nepal

KATHMANDU, June 3: Manisha Rai of Khotehang Rural Municipality–3 in Khotang is a third-year BA student at Janata Multiple Campus in Itahari. Although she travels back home many times during winter, the moment she thinks about travelling during the monsoon, she vividly remembers landslides falling from hillsides. Because of this, she rarely travels to Khotang during the rainy season.

To reach her home, she has to travel from Itahari via Rampur in Belaka Municipality of Udayapur, then through Sawanepokharitar of Gaighat, passing Simpani of Rasuwa, and finally reach Thati Bhanjyang of Khotang. Crossing this road during the monsoon feels like winning a major battle.

“This road is already terrifying even in winter, but during the rainy season it becomes even more difficult. The road through the Rasuwa hills of Udayapur is extremely steep. Even a small mistake on this hillside could send a vehicle straight into the Koshi River. Once you fall into the Koshi, there is no hope of survival,” she said.

Most of the main and secondary highways considered lifelines of Koshi Province turn muddy during rainfall in the monsoon season. Landslides also pose constant threats. Roads are frequently blocked by landslides, and in some cases vehicles are swept away along with the debris.

“You always have to travel with fear in your mind. During the rainy season, everyone remains worried from the moment they leave home until they reach their destination,” said Samita Rai of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi–3 in Khotang.

On 6 May, a landslide at Nayabasti in Makalu Municipality–3 of Sankhuwasabha along the Koshi Highway disrupted two-way traffic there. The upper regions of Sankhuwasabha, especially the Bhotkhola–Makalu area, are highly prone to landslides during the monsoon. There is no certainty about when a landslide may block the road. The Silichong, Bala, and Savapokhari areas are also at risk of landslides. These three areas have been placed in the high-sensitivity list by security agencies.

“Landslides not only affect roads, but we are also taking necessary precautions to avoid human casualties,” said DSP Meghraj Aryal of the District Police Office, Sankhuwasabha.

According to Ajeena Basnet of Panchkhapan Municipality–8 in Sankhuwasabha, the road from Chainpur to Panchkhapan has been completely damaged by floods. The Hiun Khola flows in that area. Landslides occur immediately after rainfall, cutting off local contact with Chainpur. During the monsoon, people travel to Khandbari only for essential work.

Recent rainfall in May damaged the Bokhim area of Bhojpur Municipality–5 along the Pushpalal Mid-Hill Highway. The blocked road has now been partially reopened for one-way traffic. The road connecting Bhojpur headquarters to southern areas Dalgaun and Bhulke was also blocked by landslides a few weeks ago, but it has now been reopened after clearance. Assistant Chief District Officer Mukti Prasad Khanal said arrangements have been made for immediate clearance of blocked roads.

“We have stocked necessary equipment to clear road blockages caused by landslides,” he said. “We have also held meetings with local government chiefs and are coordinating with all stakeholders for immediate clearance of road obstructions.”

A week ago, floods and landslides blocked roads in the Yangwarak Rural Municipality area of Panchthar along the Pushpalal Mid-Hill Highway. Roads in Oyam, Dobhan, and Rijalbhir areas of Yangwarak have been completely blocked due to floods and landslides. A bridge under construction connecting Panchthar and Taplejung was also swept away by floods. Hydropower infrastructure in Yangwarak Rural Municipality has also been damaged. Due to landslides, the Chyangthapu–Tharpu section of the Mid-Hill Highway is also blocked. Along the Tamor Corridor, transportation is disrupted during the monsoon as rivers such as Phalam Khola, Mewa Khola, and Thado Khola have no bridges and water levels rise.

According to Panchthar Chief District Officer Basu Dev Dahal, problems caused by floods and landslides continue throughout the monsoon season. He said that, especially in the Mid-Hill Highway areas, the lack of bridges in Phalam Khola, Mewa Khola, and Thado Khola causes major disruptions when water levels rise.

“Landslides and floods continue from mid-May to mid-October,” he said.

Along the Mechi Highway, the Maikhola–Rajdawadi section of Ilam is highly vulnerable. The road gets blocked immediately after heavy rainfall. The Kolbung area of Rong Rural Municipality in Ilam is also highly prone to landslides. Road maintenance work there has further increased landslide risks. Sakhejung in Ilam is also frequently blocked during heavy rain. The Road Division Office in Ilam has marked these roads as highly risky.

Under the Koshi Province Asian Highway (East–West Highway), road upgrading work is ongoing in three packages. The 95-kilometre stretch from Kakarvitta in Jhapa to Itahari–Labipur in Sunsari is currently under construction. Six major bridges along this section are under construction. During expansion work, old asphalt has been removed, leaving many potholes. “If unexpected floods come, it becomes very difficult,” said engineer Jitendra Kumar Sah of the Asian Highway Project Office, Itahari.

Road deterioration has also caused accidents. According to the province-level Highway Security and Traffic Management Office, Itahari, 1,416 road accidents occurred in Koshi Province during mid-May to mid-August in 2025. Of these, 491 were in mid-May to mid-June, 472 in mid-June to mid-July, and 453 in mid-July to mid-August.

Along the Postal Highway in eastern Terai (Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari), the lack of a bridge in Kankai, Jhapa, has created problems during the monsoon. The 725-metre-long Kankai bridge project has been terminated after repeated deadline extensions. The contract was originally awarded on 13 June 2011 to Pappu/Mahadev Khimti JV for Rs 340 million. Despite six deadline extensions, the contractor failed to complete the work, leading to contract termination, said Upendra Das, information officer at the Postal Highway Directorate, Itahari.

Along the Postal Highway, apart from bridges, 500 metres of road in Bhadrapur–Rajgadh, Jhapa, remain incomplete. In Morang, a 4-kilometre road from Naya Bazaar to Hatkhola is under a new tender process after an earlier failure. Similarly, a 30-kilometre north–south section of Gandhi Manmohan Road in Morang is under construction.

In Sunsari, a 22-kilometre road from the district headquarters in Inaruwa–Kaptangunj via Kauwakhoj is also being retendered after contract termination. Some sections of the Hulaki Highway are still incomplete. Roads become muddy during the rainy season, making transportation difficult, said engineer Sah.

Travelling across various districts of Koshi Province becomes highly precarious during the monsoon season due to the non-completion of 22 crucial bridges. According to Nabin Kumar Sah, an engineer with the Road Department’s Bridge Sector Construction Project in the Koshi region, the lack of bridges in hilly districts remains a major bottleneck.

Commuters face severe hardships during the rainy season due to unfinished bridges over Triyuga in Udayapur, Ranitar in Bhojpur, Dhaplang in Khotang, Talwa (connecting Okhaldhunga and Khotang), Rikuwa and Deumai in Ilam, Muga in Dhankuta, and Hewa, Loripa, and Lakuwa in Panchthar. Additionally, along the Tamor Corridor, vehicular movement comes to a halt as soon as the water level rises in the Mawa Khola.

Ashish Thapa Magar, chief engineer of the Bridge Construction Project, urged the public to remain vigilant. “Since the lack of bridges causes inevitable problems, individuals must exercise self-caution during the monsoon,” he said.

To ensure smooth traffic flow, the Heavy Equipment Division in Itahari has been actively working to clear frequent road blockages across Koshi Province. Prem Kumar Jha, Information Officer of the Heavy Equipment Division, said high-risk roads have been mapped and heavy machinery has been pre-positioned at vulnerable locations.

During the monsoon, landslides frequently block several critical routes, including Chatara–Barahachhetra in Sunsari, Dharan–Bhedetar, areas above Mulghat in Dhankuta, Tumlingtar in Sankhuwasabha, Ilam–Panchthar, Tharpu in Okhaldhunga, and Gaighat–Diktel. The division uses loaders, JCBs, and excavators as needed to clear debris and reopen roads.

Sanu Ghimire, a driver who operates a vehicle (registration number Ga 2 Kha 477) along the Itahari–Hile route, highlighted that floods and landslides pose a severe risk of accidents on hilly roads during the rainy season.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law of the Koshi Provincial Government stated that alertness is being maintained by identifying disaster-prone road sections. According to Under Secretary and Spokesperson Arjun Niraula, preparations are underway to focus resources on problem areas and execute response plans as per the standards set by the Disaster Management Committee.

Last year’s monsoon-induced floods and landslides claimed 52 lives in Koshi Province, marking the highest human casualty toll in the region over the past four years.

Bagmati Province’s main highways and under-construction roads are at high risk. Every monsoon, diversions are washed away due to floods and landslides, and narrow roads increasingly raise safety concerns for passengers. This year as well, passengers will have to face similar problems during the rainy season. According to the Road Safety and Traffic Management Office Ramnagar (Chitwan) of Nepal Police, travel on provincial roads becomes risky as soon as the monsoon begins.

According to the office, last year floods in Roshi Khola washed away a nearly four-kilometre diversion along the BP Highway from Chaukidanda to Nepalthok in Kavrepalanchok, disrupting transport services. The problem still persists. Due to rainfall in the same area, five electric vehicles were stuck on May 3. Following this, the District Administration Offices of Kavre and Sindhuli imposed a night-time traffic restriction from May 5, restricting vehicle movement from 6 PM to 5 AM.

Kantipath also frequently gets blocked even with light rainfall. The Bhainse–Kulekhani–Dakshinkali road is also at risk, and night-time vehicle operation has been suspended on this route.

The main entry point to the capital, the Narayanghat–Muglin road section, also faces a high risk of landslides. Chief Superintendent of Police Dilli Narayan Pandey of the Road Safety and Traffic Management Office Ramnagar, Chitwan, said that landslides at Tuin Khola have been causing problems every year.

“Last year during the Dashain period, it took four days to clear a landslide at Tuin Khola,” he said. “The Muglin–Naubise section of the Prithvi Highway is also under construction. Areas such as Mauwa Khola in Chitwan, Krishna Bhir in Dhading, and Jhyapekhola are extremely risky.”

He added that in the previous year, two buses were buried in a landslide at Jhyapekhola.

Similarly, traffic risks are increasing on the East–West Highway and other roads in Bagmati Province, said Ganga Bahadur Saru, Information Officer at the Road Safety and Traffic Management Office, Ramnagar. Superintendent Pandey said weak road infrastructure has made disaster management increasingly difficult.

“The roads are narrow, and we do not have sufficient equipment to clear vehicles if they break down in the middle of the road,” he said. “In many cases, we have to rely on the private sector for assistance.”

Information officer Saru said digital checkpoints and technology-based traffic management systems are needed to reduce road accidents.

“If a vehicle breaks down while moving on the road, we do not even have equipment to remove it immediately. Now we must use technology to make road safety management more effective,” he said.

The total length of major highways in Bagmati Province is around 890 kilometres. Among them, Narayanghat–Muglin, Prithvi Highway, Tribhuvan Highway, BP Highway, Kulekhani route, and Pasang Lhamu Highway of Rasuwa are among the most risky.

The number of road fatalities in the province is also high. In the current fiscal year 2025/26, 281 people have died in road accidents, while 406 were seriously injured and 2,890 sustained minor injuries. In fiscal year 2024/25, 300 people died. In the year before that, 315 people lost their lives. According to data, Chitwan is the district with the highest number of road accidents among the 10 districts of Bagmati Province.

So far in the current fiscal year, Traffic Police in Bagmati Province’s 10 districts have collected over Rs 66 million in revenue through various enforcement actions.