With the onset of monsoon, rain has impacted every part of the country. During this time, landslides, floods, and other rain-related disasters batter roads, making monsoon a highly risky period for a large portion of the nation's fragile road system. Heavy monsoon rains over the past few weeks have caused road collapses in numerous provinces. At least 11 national highways have sustained significant damage, blocking complete or partial vehicular movements. Since some of these roads are totally impassable in places, the supply of food, fuel, food grains, medicines and other essentials has been hit badly, causing a loss of billions of rupees. Daily life has stopped in many places, and towns and villages have been cut off. A vital route connecting Nepal to the northern border, the Trishuli-Rasuwagadhi road, had portions washed away due to flooding in Rasuwa. Roads along the riverbanks were severely damaged, and several people lost their lives. The road between Beni and Jomsom is still partially blocked. The Koshi corridor in the east is once more in poor condition. The East-West Highway remains blocked at the Daunne area. Numerous road washouts have also been reported in the landslide-prone areas of Taplejung and Panchthar. A long queue of cargo trucks and passenger vehicles can be seen at these places.
Although most of them are not maintained properly through standard drainage or slope protection systems, and budgetary concerns and bureaucratic sluggishness make things more difficult, it is highly essential to clear these roads and create alternate routes to maintain uninterrupted traffic and cargo flow, but authorities often find these tasks challenging due to the monsoon-related difficulties. For many of our isolated remote districts, many of the roads serve as lifelines. For instance, the Karnali Highway links the rest of Nepal with some of its least developed regions. It produces more than just inconvenience when it malfunctions. It has an impact on basic supplies, education, and hospital access. When roads become impassable, people frequently walk for hours or even days. This delay can be fatal in emergency situations. The government should act quickly to repair damaged or blocked highways, though it is best to begin preventive maintenance and repairs before the rainy season arrives, rather than after the damage has already occurred.
Our authorities can lessen the harm caused by the weather, even though we have no control over it. Stronger roads, better planning, and quick action will all be beneficial. Ignoring this problem will result in the same losses each year. Thousands of people are still in danger as the rain keeps coming down and roads are swept away or blocked. The speed and effectiveness with which the roads are cleared will determine the flow of cargo and of other vehicles that will help keep the lives, homes, and livelihoods of people in good stead. Finally, in order to keep the country moving and save the country from losing billions of rupees to monsoon mayhem, we must remain ready to face and tackle all challenges that impact our roads, highways, bridges and other infrastructures adversely.