Authorities have banned vehicular movement along the BP Highway during night hours starting on Thursday, citing heavy rainfall forecasts and high risks of floods and landslides.

A meeting of the Kavrepalanchok District Disaster Management Committee decided to halt all but emergency vehicles on the highway until the night of October 7. The restriction applies from 5pm to 5am each day.

According to Umesh Dhakal, chief district officer and coordinator of the committee, the order covers the section between Kavrebhanjyang in Dhulikhel and Nepalthok on the Sindhuli border.

Earlier, authorities had imposed a 15-day ban on vehicle movement along the highway at night due to monsoon risks.

The committee has urged the public to remain cautious, warning that possible floods and landslides along the BP Highway could trigger disasters. Vehicles travelling from Kathmandu will have to stop at Kavrebhanjyang, while those heading towards Kathmandu from Sindhuli will be halted at Nepalthok.

Last September, floods and landslides washed away an eight-kilometre stretch of the road from Chaukidanda in Kavrepalanchok to Barsekhola in Sindhuli. Currently, only temporary tracks allow partial two-way traffic.

The disasters had severely damaged 84 kilometres of the highway, particularly the 34km Khurkot–Nepalthok section in Sindhuli and the 50km Nepalthok–Dhulikhel section in Kavrepalanchok, out of the 160km route.