Vehicular movement, which had been obstructed due to the rain-triggered landslide near Nagmandir of Chandragiri Municipality-2, resumed one way after 5 pm.

“There had been a big queue of vehicles both ways at Piplamod and Nagdhunga since 10 am, the road is now open one-way after 5 pm,” a duty official at the Nagdhunga Police Check Post told the Post.

The landslide blocked vehicular movement for over seven hours near Thankot, which is the busiest point to enter and exit from the capital city Kathmandu.

Superintendent of Police Nawaraj Adhikari, who is also spokesperson for the District Police Range Kathmandu, stated that the landslide occurred near Nagmandir, just a few meters off the Nagdhunga Chowk.

Considering the risk of the boulders falling, the police personnel deployed there stopped outbound vehicles at Nagdhunga and incoming vehicles below Piplamod since 10 am, he said.

Earlier, the technicians deployed to remove the debris and resume traffic were at a loss on where to start as the landslide showed no sign of stopping.

“Clearing the debris became challenging as the landslide, which started at around 10 am did not stop quite long,” said Ishwar Bahadur Rijal, chief of Nagdhunga-Mugling Road Project (Eastern Sector).

He informed that a team of people including some technicians had already been deployed at the site to clear the blockade, but they would keep on clearing the debris to ensure smooth operation of vehicles.