Traffic halted as April flood swipes away road

By Janarjan Khatri, Sarlahi, April 9: Traffic has come to a standstill after a flood swept away the Narayan Khola in Lalbandi Municipality-14, also known as 'Karnali' in Sarlahi.

Commute gets halted because of a flood on the Lakhandehi and Dayani River, triggered by the incessant rainfall on Thursday morning, which washed away the by-road. When there is no rainfall in the Narayan Khola, then the by-road comes in use for transportation because of the lack of road access in the area.

Locals have been compelled to walk for more than three hours just to come to Lalbandi bazar 

Despite the worst road conditions, some youths commute by bike from Pattharkot, Cheda of Lalbandi-13; however, buses and other vehicles have been unable to pass through, said Bhim Bahadur Pakhrin of Narayan Khola motor dhoban. 

He said," Some of us came by bike by taking a risk; however, others are compelled to walk a long distance. The by-road has been destroyed by the flood." 

He complained that he had sustained injuries because of taking the risk of traveling by bike in such a flood. 

Even though the road reaches from Lalbandi Bazaar to Patharkot Chheda, from there, one is forced to walk through the Lakhandehi and Dayani rivers towards Uttar Narayan Khola.

Three buses have been in operation from Lalbandi bazar to Kamitar, Dayani and Sidhuli Marine of Narayan Khola. 

Wardchair of Lalbandi Municipality-14 Chena Man Singh said that although buses bound for Daini and Kamitar were stranded at dozens of places, buses bound for Marin were unable to arrive.

Ward chair Ghising said that the bus travels through the by-road till the month of April in the absence of heavy rainfall, even if commutes get disrupted for four/five days. 

He said, " We will repair the road destroyed by the Chaitra flood and resume traffic. However, everything gets halted during the rainy season as floods come repeatedly."

Ward Chai Ghising said that work is underway this year with the goal of extending the road from Pattharkot Chheda to three floors near the Motor Dobhan, where the former Narayan Khola VDC office is located.

Although the Lalbandi Municipality and the ward office have allocated budget every year to construct a road near Motordobhan via Churepakha, the construction of a bridge over the Narayan Khola, which is located on the border of Lalbandi 13 and 14, has been stalled.

The construction contractor said that the remaining work on the bridge will be completed within two to four days after unloading the materials