For the past three days, vehicles have been struggling for hours to cross the Daunne section of the Butwal-Narayanghat road along the East-West Highway, with heavy rainfall turning the highway muddy and treacherous.

The situation worsened near Bishwakarma Temple after vehicles became stuck in the slushy surface, forcing long queues on both sides. Traffic police said vehicles heading from Butwal towards Kawasoti and Narayanghat are inching forward in turns, while those travelling westwards from Dumkibas to Bardaghat and Butwal are facing delays of more than seven hours.

Travellers described the ordeal as exhausting. Anup Acharya from Kapilvastu, who left Bardaghat at midnight, reported reaching Dumkibas only at 9 am on Saturday, taking over nine hours to cover 7 kilometres of the Daunne stretch.

Though 14 kilometres long, nearly half of the section is under slope construction, further complicating passage. Many vehicles stranded since Friday midnight remained stuck in Jyamire, Dumkibas, on Saturday morning.

The crisis has hit hardest with thousands of people going home for the Dashain festival. Long traffic jams have left buses, trucks, and cars at a standstill, forcing passengers to wait without food or proper rest.

The daily movement of more than 18,000 vehicles on the Butwal-Narayanghat section has magnified the disruption, turning Daunne into a chickenneck where vehicles crawl at a painfully slow pace.