KATHMANDU, Oct 11: The Budhigandaki River has begun flowing again after a large landslide blocked it between Lokpa and Chumling in ward 6 of Gorkha’s Chumnubri Rural Municipality.
Police said they had received reports of a major flood after water began flowing past the blockage. Further details about the flood and its impact on downstream communities were still awaited.
According to police, the river blockage was reported at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. Teams from the Sirdibas and Chumchet police posts were immediately dispatched to the site. Police units and residents along the river were also alerted to the possible danger.
PM inaugurates Budhigandaki Project's field office in Gorkha
Reports of a major flood came in after water began flowing from the blocked section at around 6:15 a.m.
Gandaki Province Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Krishna Prasad Koirala said the remote location had made it difficult for officers to reach the site and assess conditions. Police were warning riverside settlements based on information received from local residents, he told Nagarik News.
“We cannot reach the exact site and assess the situation at present. We have received reports that the river’s flow is rising and falling,” Koirala said.
He said authorities could not assess the risk without knowing how much water remained trapped behind the landslide. The volume of water and its flow would determine the impact on the Trishuli River, which the Budhigandaki joins, and how far downstream the danger could extend.
Police were continuing to alert riverside communities and gather further information, he said.
Koirala added that police had so far received no reports of damage to hydropower projects in the affected area.
