Govt steps up preparations to prevent traffic disruptions during monsoon

KATHMANDU, June 19: The government has claimed that it has made pre-monsoon preparations to promptly resume transportation services in case roads are blocked due to floods and landslides during the rainy season. Every year, national and feeder highways across the country are disrupted by such disasters.

Keshav Sharma, Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, stated that preparations have been made to ensure that national highways are not blocked for more than four hours during this monsoon season—except in cases of continuous heavy rainfall like the one experienced in late September last year.

“The rainfall that occurred on September 27 and 28 last year was an exceptional case. Otherwise, we have prepared to ensure that national highways are not obstructed for more than four hours during this year’s monsoon,” Sharma said, “We have placed machinery at various locations to immediately clear any obstructions on the roads. Similarly, essential materials like stones, wire mesh, and other necessary supplies have been kept ready.”

According to Sharma, the ministry has developed a mobile app to provide real-time updates on the condition of national highways during the monsoon season. All technical staff and employees of the ministry are connected to this app, which will display up-to-date information about national highways across the country.

“In case of any obstruction, our personnel will be immediately deployed to clear it,” Sharma said. He added that necessary manpower has also been kept on standby during the rainy season. “We are making every possible effort to ensure that any road blockage caused by rain is cleared without delay,” he said.

Meanwhile, meteorologists have projected that this year’s monsoon will bring above-average rainfall. Following this forecast, technical staff at the ministry are on heightened alert, according to Sharma.

In case of highway blockages, the Maintenance Division under the Department of Roads (DoR) will immediately begin reconstruction work. For this purpose alone, a budget of Rs nine billion has been allocated to the Maintenance Division for the current year.

Last year, heavy rainfall caused obstructions at 803 locations across 42 highways. According to the DoR, the rain had damaged around 21,000 meters of roads nationwide. Additionally, five bridges sustained damage, including two Bailey bridges. The preliminary estimate for the repair and reconstruction of these bridges was around Rs 2.5 billion.

According to the DoR, Araniko Highway, Kanti Highway, and BP Highway suffered major damage at that time. On the BP Highway alone, the foundation of approximately 1,550 meters of road was severely damaged. In addition to these, several other locations experienced minor damages.

The Ministry of Finance has allocated funds for the permanent reconstruction of 26 roads and bridges that were severely damaged by the continuous rainfall on September 27 and 28 last year. Of these, 13 are highways and 13 are bridges. The Ministry has ensured a total funding of Rs 18.88 billion for their reconstruction.

For the current fiscal year, the Ministry has allocated Rs 3.66 billion for this purpose and had earlier released an immediate sum of Rs 624 million.

According to the DoR, Rs 15.83 billion has been allocated for the reconstruction of 10 major highways, while Rs 1.15 billion has been set aside for the reconstruction of three alternative roads. Similarly, Rs 1.90 billion has been allocated for the reconstruction of the 13 damaged bridges.