Rabina Kumari Sah of Janakpur was on her way to Kathmandu via BP Highway on Friday. She rushed to the national capital amid rainy weather as she had to attend a written test for a job in a bank, scheduled for Saturday. However, her journey came to a halt after floods and landslides badly damaged the highway.

“I walked for about 16 hours to get here. We were stranded at Mangaltar after the floods and landslides wreaked havoc in the area. We waited hours for rescue but there was no response from the authorities. So, on Sunday morning, we decided to start walking,” said Sah, who the Post met at Bela in Kavrepalanchok.

According to Sah, she was nearly swept away by the floods in Mangaltar, but others saved her. “My bag was washed away. I have nothing left except for the clothes on my back,” said Sah. “The floods in Roshi caused a huge damage in the area. We decided to move ahead despite the floods and landslide-damaged roads.” She is hopeful of reaching Kathmandu soon.

But walking is not easy as road sections have either been washed away or landslides have blocked it in many places and much of the road is caked in thick mud. Hundreds of stranded passengers, left with no alternative, are risking their lives walking through treacherous conditions.

A woman in her thirties, with a small baby strapped to her back, was trudging through knee-deep mud. She said she walked for four hours to reach Bela from Banepa. She was heading for Mangaltar.

“The road has been completely washed away in some places and the mud reaches up to our knees. We have no alternative but to walk. Hopefully, I will make it to Bhakunde by evening,” said the woman.

During this scribe’s stay in Bela for one-and-half hours, around 200 passengers passed by. According to the pedestrians, around 2,500 people have been making their way along the rain-ravaged road.

Lekhnath Neupane was travelling to Kathmandu from Jhapa via the BP Highway. He was stuck at Kaldhunga in ward 11 of Roshi Rural Municipality after the floods and landslides damaged the highway in several places. “The Roshi stream bifurcated and flowed from two sides. The floods swept away 10-12 houses in front of our eyes. We walked a few metres away and found a community school. We stayed there for two days. We finally decided to walk from Sunday morning as we could not find food there,” he said.

According to Neupane, he and many other stranded passengers arrived in Bhakundebesi on Sunday evening. “We stayed at Bhakundebesi and finally got something to eat. I feel extremely lucky to have made it this far. This was the deadliest disaster I have ever experienced,” he added. People who arrived at Bela could catch vehicles to Kathmandu.

A team of health workers led by Dr Abhishek Thakur, a cardiologist, set out for Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap, on Friday to organise a health camp at Ramakoshi Hospital. However, they were stranded at Mangaltar after the rains damaged roads in several places.

“We were stuck at Mangaltar on Friday and Saturday. We finally started walking back to Kathmandu through forests, hills and wading streams and muddy roads. It took us around 13 hours to reach Bhakundebesi,” said Thakur. “Along the way, we met many injured and sick people. We saw huge devastation during our two-day stay in the Roshi area,” he added.

According to the District Traffic Police Office in Kavrepalanchok, one-lane traffic resumed up to Bhakundebesi on Monday. However, the 29 kilometres long Chaukidanda-Nepalthok section remains blocked due to floods and landslides.

Roshi river causes destruction

The rain-swollen Roshi river pummelled settlements along its banks in Roshi Rural Municipality and Panauti Municipality.

Roshi Rural Municipality was hit particularly hard. According to Dinesh Lama, chairman of the rural municipality, wards 1, 2 and 9 were devastated by the flooded Roshi river, killing 12 people and injuring many others.

“Around 500 families have been displaced due to floods and landslides in Roshi. The floods also hit several infrastructures including a motorable bridge in ward 7 of Roshi, and industrial village in ward 11. The floods also damaged an under- construction 10-bed hospital and a public park,” said Dinesh.

Similarly, 12 people died and around 300 families have been displaced in Panauti Municipality. Wards 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 11 and 12 have been badly affected by the floods.

Kavrepalanchok, a hill district of Bagmati Province, has borne the brunt of these rain-induced disasters.

As per the data provided by all 13 local units in Kavrepalanchok, as many as 66 people perished in the floods and landslides in the district. Police, however, confirmed 52 deaths by Monday evening. According to the District Police Office, 42 people were injured in the disasters while 451 people have been rescued by helicopters.