Sindhuli, February 20
The Sindhuli-Bardibas Road joining Kathmandu with Eastern Tarai has shut since Sunday night. This happened after around 30 metres of the road fell into the Sunkoshi River. Police said immediate repair of the road will be impossible since the damage has occurred on a treacherous stretch.
Rameshswar Raut, sub-inspector at Kurkhot area police office, told Onlinekhabar that the damage occurred at Triveni, Sitalpati VDC-9. The damage is said to have occurred at around 11 pm. Raut said there were no human casualties as no vehicle was passing through that stretch at that time.
The two-way vehicular movement has come to a stop after the incident, Raut said, adding: A little above, there’s a dit road.
In one or two days, the alternative road can open, but immediate repair of the damaged section of the road does not appear possible, he said.
Meanwhile, Sindhuli district police office has asked public to use the alternative route.
A soure at the office said: Vehicles originating in Bardibas can reach Kathmandu via Khurkot (close to)-Manthali-Dolakha route. And vehicles bound for Sindhuli from Kathmandu can pass through Dolakha-Manthali (Ramechhap)-Khurkot (Sindhuli) route.
We repeatedly asked concerned bodies to operate light vehicles only on this road, the office said, adding: The road caved in and operation of heavy vehicles is to blame for this.
It is a short route connecting Kathmandu with the Terai and was built with assistance from the government of Japan a few years ago.
It has been said that India had prevented the construction of a two-lane road along this stretch.
The government had been asking all concerned not to operate heavy vehicles along the road. A DPO source said: We repeatedly told the concerned sides to operate light vehicles only. But big buses operated during Dashain. On other occasions also, heavy vehicles had been operating. The road could not support this and caved in.
