BP Highway won’t reopen before Dashain festival: Ministry

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 4: The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure has said that the BP Highway will not reopen before Dashain. A team from the Ministry and the Department of Roads conducted an inspection report on Wednesday using a Nepali Army helicopter. 

The next day, Thursday, during a press conference organised at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure, Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma said, "We have concluded that the highway cannot reopen before Dashain."

In the Chaukidanda-Kaldhunga section of the BP Highway, about 12 kilometres of road has been washed away by floods by the Roshi River. The length of this section is 18 kilometres, of which 12 kilometres have been washed away, and there is no likelihood of constructing a road by cutting through the hills.

Hence, efforts will be made to operate the road by creating a diversion once the water flow in the river decreases.

According to Secretary Sharma, a temporary track could be opened along both sides of the Roshi River to operate the highway. However, in three to four places, the river has flowed all the way to the hills, meaning that bridges may need to be constructed. He further said, "There is no guarantee of public vehicles running immediately even temporarily from any specific date and day."

Secretary Sharma said that after the highway was damaged by floods and landslides, vehicles coming from the east were using a route along BP Highway up to Sitkha, crossing the river, and then traveling via Manthali in Ramechhap and Charikot in Dolakha to reach Kathmandu. "But that route is very long and winding," he added.

According to Sharma, Kanti Highway and Dakshinkali-Chhaimale Road are available as alternatives for vehicles traveling eastward. Physical Infrastructure Secretary Sharma said, "From this route, one can reach Hetauda and from there, Bhiman. He added that efforts are underway to operate Kanti Highway and Dakshinkali-Chhaimale Road by tomorrow or the day after.

According to him, the bypass road from Kathmandu via Naubise to Hetauda is also in operation. 

Similarly, one can also reach Hetauda via the Thankot-Chitlang route.

Director General of the Department of Roads, Ramhari Pokharel, said that they are working on options to bring stranded vehicles on the BP Highway either to Sindhuli or Kathmandu before Dashain.

Meanwhile, our Banepa correspondent reports: The diversion work on the BP Highway, damaged by last Saturday's flooding, has encountered difficulties. 

The construction of the road diversion at the border between Namobuddha Municipality and Rosi Rural Municipality at Chaukidanda has become problematic. With challenges in constructing the road diversion, there are growing concerns about whether the BP Highway will be operational anytime before Dashain festival.  

Senior Divisional Engineer (SDE) Suman Yogesh of the Division Road Office, Bhaktapur, said that the rising water flow in the Rosi River has hindered progress in creating the diversion at Chaukidanda. 

"Yesterday, we prepared a diversion to reach the Rosi Riverbank from Chaukidanda. However, due to the high-water flow, machines couldn't be brought across the river. 

Given the situation, it seems unlikely that the road will be operational before Dashain festival which started formally from October 3. Nevertheless, we are doing everything we can, with all available resources, to open the obstructed road," said SDE Yogesh.  

He explained that it is not feasible to create a diversion using culvert pipes, as the river has flowed onto the road itself at Chaukidanda, causing further damage. Therefore, the river needs to be redirected to flow southward before the diversion can be built.

The engineer added that about 200 metres of the road was damaged and washed away by the flood, and the road elevation at Chaukidanda is too high for any track to be created from the cliff.  

Yogesh said that the team working to create a diversion from Nepalthok on the Sindhuli side was unable to complete work at even one location yesterday. 

"There doesn't seem to be any alternative other than creating a diversion through the river for the highway to be operational. It's impossible to open a track out of the damaged road cliff. Creating the diversion is easier on the Nepalthok side, where the elevation difference between the river and the road is lower. 

However, at Chaukidanda, the elevation is too high, which has made the work difficult," he said.  

The Division Road Office, Bhaktapur, has deployed six dozers on the Nepalthok side, two in Mangaltar, and two in Chaukidanda to create diversions in the affected areas. Because of the high water flow, five machines are also working to clear muds and landslides between Bhakunde Besi and Dhulikhel, aiming to open both lanes of the road. The office also said that two additional machines will be deployed on Thursday to assist in the effort.  

The Division Road Office reported that 21 kilometres of the BP Highway from Chaukidanda to Kavrepalanchok border have been severely damaged in 14 locations, covering a total of eight kilometres. 

Specific damages include 100 metres at the Dapcha River, 200 metres at Chaukidanda, 500 metres at Katunje, 500 metres at Charau Besi, 200 metres at Narke, 400 metres at Pinthali Besi, 300 metres at Daunne, and 600 metres at Boksi Kuna in Mangaltar.  

Additionally, 700 metres of road was destroyed at Bhakure River, 800 metres at Dalabesi, 700 metres in two locations at Piple, 400 metres at Mamti Chalise, and 800 metres at Mamti.