Authorities have opened an alternative route to the flood-ravaged BP Highway to connect Tarai districts to Kathmandu.

The Pushpalal Highway linking Charikot to Manthali came into operation on Wednesday after a track was opened at Kirnetar in ward 5 of Tamakoshi Rural Municipality in Dolakha.

Transportation was disrupted in the road section after the flooded Tamakoshi river swept away around 400 metres of road near the powerhouse of Khimti Hydropower Project on Saturday.

The new track has been opened through the residential quarters of Khimti Hydropower Project. Chief district officers of Dolakha and Ramechhap, representatives of the hydropower project and representatives of political parties reached an agreement on Tuesday to open the track.

“Two excavators were used to open the track since early morning [Wednesday],” said Dolakha’s Chief District Officer Tuwaraj Pokharel. “Transportation came into operation in the evening.”

Pokharel added that small vehicles and ambulances can now use the new track as an alternative route.

With the track construction, the locals of Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu have also been benefited. These districts were disconnected after the flooded Sunkoshi river swept away a motorable bridge at Khurkot on Saturday. Thousands of people planning to visit their home for Dashain, a major Hindu festival, have heaved a sigh of relief with the opening of the new track.

Ramechhap residents were hugely affected following the destruction of the Khurkot bridge. Even the sick people could not go out of the district due to the destruction of Khurkot bridge and disruption of the Charikot-Manthali road.

With the track opening at the Kirnetar section from Wednesday, Pushpalal Highway has been connected to the Jiri road and the Araniko Highway. People of the area used to travel via the same route before the construction of BP Highway. Even the vehicles from the Tarai can now reach Kathmandu using the Bardibas-Khurkot-Sitkha-Manthali-Charikot-Khadichaur route. One has to travel around 315 kilometres to reach Kathmandu from Bardibas of Mahottari district.

Various settlements of Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu were totally disconnected after the Sunkoshi swept away another motorable bridge at Khairenighat of Khandadevi Rural Municipality-3, which served as an alternative road. Transportation of essential goods was disrupted in the area, leaving the locals in hardships just ahead of the Dashain festival. There was another motorable bridge at Sitkha but it failed to serve as an alternative route as the Roshi river ravaged Kavre section of BP Highway.

“With the track opening in Kirnetar, Sitkha bridge now links various districts of the hills and mountains with the Tarai,” said Nabin Thapa Magar, chairman of the Ramechhap Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “This route is crucial to supply essential goods for Dashain. This is the only highway serving the area until the Khurkot bridge is reconstructed.”