SINDHULI, June 30: After months of disruption, vehicular movement on BP highway which connects Dhulikhel, Sindhuli and Bardibas, has finally resumed from Friday.
Vehicular movement on the highway had remained halted since the dry landslide of last winter. On February 21, around 35 meter of the road section collapsed and plunged into to Sunkoshi River which compelled the locals to travel along difficult alternative routes. As informed by the project office, vehicles have started plying the highway after the reconstruction of almost all the damaged infrastructures.
The project has set up a wall and blacktopped the road section to bring it back to the old state. While the highway was not in operation, locals were obliged to use an alternative track which is longer and difficult as well. Passengers were elated when the vehicles started moving on the highway from Friday. According to traffic police data, more than 5,000 vehicles hit the highway everyday. Earlier, people had to experience long traffic jams as two-way vehicular movement is banned on the old track. So, people are hopeful that they will no longer have to bear with traffic congestions.
Though the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has time and again issued notices prohibiting large and heavy vehicles, buses and tippers from plying the highway, the notices have been ineffective.
This highway was constructed with financial assistance from the Japan government three years ago. It is an important infrastructure which connects two regions of Nepal. The highway is a shortcut to Kathmandu from Bardibas, Sindhuli and Dhulikhel as it is just 160 km long. The catastrophic earthquake of 2015 had massively damaged the highway, which became worse after the movement of heavy vehicles. After much pressure from the public, the project office had speeded up the repair of the highway and vehicular movement on the highway could finally resume from Friday. “No vehicle has to go the alternative routes from now onwards,” said Rameshwar Pandey, a traffic police constable. Though vehicular movement has finally begun on the highway, DoTM Has strictly prohibited heavy vehicles from plying the highway.
Vehicular movement along Jaya Prithvi Highway resumes
