Flood destroys 7 bridges completely, 48 partially in Kavre

By Kedar Timilsina,Banepa, Oct. 11: Landslides triggered by continuous rainfall on September 28 and 29 damaged at least 48 motorable bridges in the Kavrepalanchok district.

The Infrastructure Development Office in Kavrepalanchok reported that seven bridges were destroyed in various locations across the district.

Senior Divisional Engineer Raju Shrestha from the Infrastructure Development Office said that while 48 motorable bridges were affected by the floods, seven were destroyed. He added that of the bridges that were totally destroyed, three were swept away by the flood while half of the structures of four bridges were damaged.

The completely damaged bridges include the Roshi Khola motorable bridge in Namobuddha Municipality-6, Panauti Bansdol Bridge in Panauti Municipality-4 and the Roshi Khola Bridge located at Jorghatta in Panauti Municipality-12.

Similarly, the floods caused further damage to the Salandu Khola Bridge near Khopasi Power House in Panauti Municipality-10, the Roshi Khola Bridge in Panauti Municipality-12 and the Roshi Khola Bridge leading to Malti Kolanti. Due to the instability of these bridges, they have also been classified as destroyed, Shrestha said.

He said that 38 bridges suffered minor damage due to the floods; while traffic is currently operational on these bridges, maintenance is necessary. The bridges that were fully and partially damaged were older structures built by the former District Development Committee and District Technical Office, while the Sunkoshi River Bridge was constructed with support from DOLIDAR.

Shrestha, who is also the coordinator of the infrastructure cluster formed after the flood and landslide damage, said that other bridges in the district may also have been affected and efforts are underway to collect and update the data.

He also said that a suspension bridge in the area of Roshi Municipality’s Phalamesangu also sustained damage due to the flooding. 

He further said that numerous drains and road retaining walls throughout the district were also damaged by the floods.