Traffic along the Narayanghat-Butwal road section has been disrupted on Monday after the alternative route being used at Dumkibas was blocked due to flooding.

Vehicular movement has come to a standstill after the Khareunge river in ward 3 of Binayi Tribeni Rural Municipality in eastern Nawalparasi overflowed due to rainfall, police said.

The diversion built on the Binayi River along the East-West Highway was swept away after water levels rose, forcing small and medium-sized vehicles (up to 12-wheelers) to use an internal road via Hongshi Gate, Sardi and Jyamire. However, that route also became impassable, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Madhu Nepal.

The Department of Roads has suspended freight vehicle movement along the Dumkibas-Bardaghat section and imposed a night-time ban on all types of vehicles.

Even during light rainfall, the Daunne section becomes slippery, and transport has frequently been obstructed in the area since the diversion at Binayi River is repeatedly washed away.

To prevent congestion at the already obstructed Daunne section, police stopped freight trucks 60 kilometres east at Gaindakot on Monday. Superintendent of Police Yadav Dhakal said trucks heading from Narayanghat to Butwal were being held at Gaindakot and Harkapur. At the same time, those travelling from Butwal to Narayanghat were being stopped at Bardaghat.

Anuchha Ghimire, chief of the road project’s eastern section, said long vehicles and trucks have been barred from travelling through Daunne to allow for gravel laying. She said that by Monday morning, 50 tipper trucks of gravel had already been laid. In total, around 500 tipper loads of gravel will be laid along the seven-kilometre section from Dumkibas to Kantipur Hotel in Daunne. Authorities estimate the road may reopen for night traffic within three days.

After the steel bridge over the Binayi River at Dumkibas collapsed on January 10, vehicles were diverted through a diversion built north of the damaged bridge. According to the Bharatpur Road Division Office, this diversion has been swept away nine times, with total repair costs reaching Rs5.7 million.

Ghimire said a newly constructed concrete bridge at Dumkibas will be opened for vehicle movement from July 15, as per a letter from the Chinese contractor overseeing the project. Until then, traffic will continue to depend on the alternative road.