KATHMANDU, Aug 10: Residents of Ilam and neighboring districts are struggling with disrupted transportation as damaged roads and missing Bailey bridges have effectively severed key links between the eastern hills and the Tarai.
Travel between Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung and the Tarai has become increasingly difficult as Bailey bridges over the Puwakhola and Jogmai rivers have yet to be reconnected. The Mechi Highway, a crucial route linking the region, has also remained disrupted for months.
A Bailey bridge planned over the Jogmai Khola along the Simalgolai-Tilkeni road has yet to be installed. The road is considered an alternative to the Puwakhola section of the Kechana-Kanchanjunga Road, also known as the Ilam-Jhapa Fast Track, as well as the Rajduwali section of the Mechi Highway.
According to the Division Road Office (DRO), Ilam, work has been delayed because all the components required for the Bailey bridges over the two rivers have not yet arrived from India.
Pawan Bhattarai, chief of the DRO, said materials equivalent to three truckloads have arrived so far, but the timeline for receiving the remaining components remains uncertain.
“Each Bailey bridge requires materials transported by 15 to 16 trucks, but only three truckloads have arrived so far,” Bhattarai said. “Another four truckloads are expected in about 10 days, but we do not know when the remaining materials and the technical team required for installation will arrive.”
Bhattarai said the technical team would be mobilized only after all the materials had arrived.
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“The infrastructure required in the river to install the Bailey bridges is almost complete, but uncertainty over when the bridges will be connected is creating confusion,” he said. “We have repeatedly urged the Department of Roads, both in writing and verbally, to procure the remaining materials as soon as possible. The department is also making efforts in this regard.”
Mechi Highway remains a major bottleneck
The transportation crisis has been compounded by the prolonged closure of the Mechi Highway. On October 4, 2025, a nighttime landslide swept away around 500 meters of road along the Rajduwali section.
The damaged stretch has yet to be restored for reliable year-round traffic. Although vehicles can pass during the dry season, the road becomes difficult to navigate once the monsoon arrives. The section has remained completely closed for about a month.
“We are repairing the road to allow vehicles to pass, but as soon as it rains, the road deteriorates again,” Bhattarai said. “The cycle of repairing the road only to see rainwater wash it away continues.”
Work is underway at the lower section of the Rajduwali landslide, where a concrete retaining structure is being built from the surface of the Maikhola River. However, persistent rainfall has made it difficult to complete the work.
“The situation does not allow us to reopen the Mechi Highway through Rajduwali yet,” Bhattarai said. “It will take some more time.”
Temporary crossings offer little relief
Two Bailey bridges constructed over the Puwakhola along the Kechana-Kanchanjunga Road and over the Jogmai along the Simalgolai-Tilkeni Road were swept away by floods.
Temporary diversions have since been constructed across both rivers to allow vehicles to pass. But the makeshift crossings offer little security during the monsoon, with floodwaters repeatedly washing them away.
Both roads are also unpaved and become muddy during rainfall, making travel difficult for passenger and freight vehicles alike.
The Koshi Province government has allocated Rs 2.5 million for repairs to the Simalgolai-Tilkeni Road. Ilam Municipality has repaired the Tilkeni-Bajradevi section by adding gravel, while the Road Division is working on the remaining stretch.
Although the road repairs are expected to be completed within a few days, Bhattarai warned that the route may still not be suitable for heavy freight vehicles.
The disruption has already contributed to shortages of consumer goods in Ilam, as freight vehicles struggle to reach the district.
Calls grow to declare Ilam a disaster-hit district
The transportation crisis stems from the devastating rains, floods and landslides of October 4 and 5, which claimed 39 lives and caused more than Rs 12 billion in physical damage across the region. Roads and bridges alone suffered an estimated Rs 7 billion in damage.
Stakeholders say delayed budget allocation and the late start of reconstruction—after the monsoon had already begun—have compounded the problem, leaving residents and travelers to bear the consequences.
With key roads and bridges still out of operation, representatives of local communities, political parties, social organizations and the business sector have repeatedly urged the federal government to declare Ilam a disaster-hit district.
They have also called on the government to declare the district’s transportation situation an emergency and accelerate the reconstruction of roads and bridges.
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