KATHMANDU, Oct 12: The Mechi Highway remains blocked after the massive landslide triggered by heavy rainfall on October 4. Traffic has been completely halted along the Ilam–Rajduwali section in Ilam Municipality-9 after a large landslide buried the road.
Despite weeklong efforts by the Ilam Road Division, locals, and security personnel, the route has yet to reopen. Road Division Chief Pawan Bhattarai said technical teams and locals are working continuously, but the landslide’s scale has made clearance difficult. “We are working day and night, but an entire hill has collapsed,” he said. Three excavators have been deployed to remove debris.
Assistant Chief District Officer Bhola Nath Guragain said the road remains closed for public safety until repairs are completed. “The highway will stay closed until travel becomes safe,” he said.
Mechi Highway disrupted due to landslides
The Rajduwali and Ilam–Nepaltar sections suffered major damage, though the blockage at Milgolai has been cleared, allowing limited traffic from Panchthar and Taplejung up to Rajduwali. Vehicles from Jhapa to Fikkal and up to Maikhola are operating normally, but the Rajduwali section remains impassable, affecting travelers from Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, and Jhapa.
Vehicles from Panchthar and Taplejung bound for Jhapa are halted above the Rajduwali landslide, while those from Jhapa toward Ilam stop at Maikhola. Passengers must walk roughly 1.5 kilometers between the two points. Security personnel are helping carry the elderly and sick across using stretchers.
Alternate routes have also been cut off. Floods swept away the Bailey bridge over the Jogmaikhola River on the Mechi Corridor (Kechana–Kanchanjunga Road) under the Puwakhola–Tilkeni–Simlagolai section, leaving Ilam without a functional road to Jhapa. Several local municipalities have been disconnected from district headquarters.
Out of 10 local units in Ilam, five remain cut off. The Rajduwali landslide has blocked access to Suryodaya Municipality, while bridge damage on the Belase, Deumai, and Jogmaikhola routes has isolated Mai, Mangsebung, Maijogmai, and Phakphokthum rural municipalities.
According to the District Administration Office, 19 concrete bridges, 2 Bailey bridges, 11 culverts, and 3 suspension bridges have been damaged. Thirty-one roads have sustained damage. Floods and landslides have killed 39 people, injured 26, and left one missing. Chief District Officer Sunita Nepal said 276 families have been displaced, 151 houses completely destroyed, and 327 partially damaged.
