As the rain-induced landslides have damaged the major roads connecting Kathmandu Valley with the rest of the country, the Prithvi Highway is likely to witness more traffic during the upcoming Dashain festival.

Officials at the Department of Roads said that as other roads are unlikely to be ready for use, the only option for those travelling to and from the Valley will be the Kathmandu-Mugling highway, even as the highway itself is in a shoddy condition following heavy rainfall.

Bus operators point to the need for government agencies to work on a war-footing to ease festive travel.

“When major highways connecting Kathmandu Valley are disrupted, the only functional one, the Prithvi Highway, will be in high use during Dashain,” Amit Kumar Sharma, information officer at the Department of Roads, told the Post. “But the highway itself is disrupted at different places.”

Thanks to efforts of the Nepal Army, the Armed Police Force, the Nepal Police and other agencies, the Prithvi Highway, which was disrupted since Saturday, has now become functional.

However, according to the officer of the department, under Nagdhunga-Mugling section, two-way roads have been opened in Mauwa Khola, Hukdikhola, Fishling, Kalikhola, Simaltal, Jalbire, and Ghoptebhir sections. However, as of this writing, vehicular movement was open only one-way along the Jhyaple Khola and Jawang Khola sections, both of which are key routes into the capital city.

“Even though there are some disturbances, the Prithvi Highway has now become functional,” acting spokesperson of traffic police Rabin Karki told the Post. “If there is no disruption by further rainfall, the highway will be fully functional before Dashain.”

Dashain, a major Hindu festival, starts on October 3 and will be celebrated until October 14. Last year, almost 1.5 million people left Kathmandu Valley for their home districts during Dashain, according to the Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs Association. Bus operators, however, expect the number to decline this year due to the hassles in travel owing to poor roads.

According to the department of roads, the BP Highway, which connects most of the eastern parts of the country with the Kathmandu Valley, is disrupted at Nepalthok, Kavre. The vehicles that come through Bardibas will be stopped in Nepalthok, says the officer of the road department.

“Due to the difficult topography of the road section, this highway will take a few more days to be fully functional,” Sharma, the information officer of the road department, said. “A team from our department is in the field to collect detailed information.”

Likewise, Kanti Rajpath, the other highway connecting Kathmandu to Tarai districts through Makawanpur, is also not in good condition due to damages caused by incessant rains.

In this section of the highway, the damage caused by heavy rainfall on the bridges pose a big challenge for the resumption of vehicular movement. “Although we repaired the highway, the road might not be usable for vehicular movement during Dashain,” Sharma said.

The heavy rains also disrupted the Araniko Highway. The road department office says even though people can travel up to Barhabise and Jiri via this highway, the connection to China has been disrupted. The condition of the Mid-hill Highway that connects several hill districts is not good either.

Sharma says the road department plans to create diversion roads on various highways targeting Dashain. “Considering the movement of hundreds of thousands of people during Dashain, the department will soon make diversion roads on BP Highway, Mid-hill Highway and Mechi Highway, all of which were badly hit by recent rainfalls,” Sharma added.

Bijay Swar, chair of the National Transport Entrepreneurs’ Association, says that despite their preparations, persistent rain, floods, and landslides could still have a big impact on people’s travel plans this Dashain.

After the disruption of the BP Highway, Kanti Rajpath could have been used as an alternative but the highway is also in poor condition. “Now we only have the option of Prithvi Highway,” Swar told the Post.

If the government does not declare an emergency in public transport and work on a fast-track basis to make the roads functional, the Dashain trips could be full of hassles, officials say.

Apart from the poor road condition, another major challenge during Dashain would be old vehicles, which often break down in the middle of the road, causing traffic jams. But traffic police say they have a plan to manage such vehicles.

“We will coordinate with various state agencies, especially at the district level, to ensure that people will have no difficulty travelling during Dashain,” acting spokesperson of traffic Karki said.