Vehicles are taking up to seven hours to cross the Daunne hill section of the East-West Highway after heavy traffic built up near the Bishwakarma Temple, leaving thousands of travellers stranded for hours.

The bottleneck, around three kilometres west of Dumkibas, was caused by vehicles failing to ascend a steep slope where the road had caved in during recent rainfall. Only one vehicle can pass, at a time, on the narrow, concrete-paved stretch, creating long lines of trucks, buses and cars.

“I reached Daunne around 3:45am, and I still haven’t passed Bishwakarma Temple,” said Ram Parajuli, travelling from Kawasoti to Butwal. “Since Monday, the situation has remained the same. It takes a minimum of seven hours just to cross this section. People are suffering.”

Hundreds of vehicles heading west from Narayanghat have been brought to a standstill. Police Inspector Rajan Timilsina of the Dumkibas Area Police Office said the recent rain worsened road conditions and confirmed that six locations along the stretch are operating one-way traffic, further causing the delays.

Construction of the Daunne segment falls under the 114-kilometre Narayanghat–Butwal road expansion project, funded by the Asian Development Bank. Work on the 14-kilometre Daunne hill section has been repeatedly delayed, with frequent disruptions during the monsoon due to landslides, muddy surfaces, and collapsing diversions.

The contract was awarded to China State Construction Engineering Corporation, but the firm has faced growing criticism for its sluggish progress. Locals say the contractor has not been on site despite worsening conditions.

“It’s been three days since this stretch has faced traffic jams,” said Shiva Pandey, among those stuck in traffic on Wednesday. “The Chinese contractor has done nothing. The government is silent. Who is responsible for clearing this mess?”

In June, similar gridlock left vehicles stuck for more than 24 hours after heavy rain turned the slope into a mud trap. At one point, the traffic jam stretched over 50 kilometres from Bhutaha to Danda. Floods repeatedly swept away temporary diversions constructed in place of collapsed bridges and culverts.

Although rainfall eased after 6am on Wednesday, officials said any improvement in traffic flow would be gradual. Authorities have urged travellers to avoid non-essential trips along the Narayanghat–Butwal highway during periods of rain.

Initially scheduled for completion in 2022, the project has already received multiple deadline extensions. The current target for completion of the road is mid-August 2026.