Mugu, July 8: Transport service has come to a grinding halt in five districts of Karnali since a week now. Both air and surface transport have been disrupted due to the incessant rains and the inclement weather.
Flights have not operated to four airports in these districts while vehicles have not been able to ply on the Karnali highway and the Karnali corridor highway due to landslips and flooding at multiple places.
Although he has an urgent work in Surkhet, Naula Sing Nepali of Chhayanath Rara Municipality-11 has not been able to travel to Surkhet as both air and road transport services remain halted.
Mohan Shahi of Tallekh, Chhayanath Rara Municipality-10, missed the Teacher Service Commission examination on July 6 as he could not make it to the exam centre in Surkhet. Like him, many people missed their exams.
Patients and employees preparing to travel to the provincial and federal capitals for treatment and for important works have not been able to travel to these places due to the disruption of air and road transport.
Vehicles carrying daily essentials and construction materials are stranded, said Kamal Bahadur Budha, President of Mugu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “If the road transport halted for a week now is not resumed, then there will be shortage of daily essentials in the market,” he expressed his worry.
Engineer at the Road Division Office, Jumla, Bir Bahadur GT, said that the Karnali highway is obstructed due to inundation, landslide and debris flow at 12 places, including at Khola, S-mode, Jhamla Khola, Dahi Khola and Hulma in the Kalikot section and at Patarkhola of Dailekh section.
He said the Office has mobilized scavators for clearing the debris and opening the road for traffic at these places.
Apart from the road transport, air transport to Rara airport of Mugu, Simkot of Humla, Jumla airport and Jufal airport of Dolpa remains suspended for a week now due to bad weather condition, said Shree Krishna Rijal, Chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Mugu.
Even the rural roads connecting one village to the next and to the district headquarters remain obstructed due to the incessant rains.
Kaligandaki Corridor closed for three days
The Baglung section of the Kaligandaki corridor has been closed for three days due to landslides caused by continuous rains. Due to landslides in four places along the corridor, the transport has not been able to operate so far. Information Officer of District Police Office Bijay Yadav said that the road section has been blocked since Saturday morning.
Raj Khadka, deputy head of Baglung Municipality, said that it will take time to open as the track itself has been washed away in Dablyang in Baglung Municipality-10 along the corridor. Landslides have occurred in Jaimini Municipality-5 Binamare, Jaimini Municipality-1 Theulekhola and Jimirghat of the corridor.
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