The construction of BP Highway opened the door to development in Sindhuli and other mid-hill districts. Along with easy transportation access, the highway improved the economy and living standards in those districts.
However, less than a decade after its completion, the highway was severely damaged due to floods in the Roshi and Sunkoshi rivers last year, cutting off road connectivity for almost two weeks. It has been nine months since the devastating flood, and the condition of the highway has barely improved.
People living along the highway fear the motorway will suffer the same fate as last year in case of heavy rainfall. Ramji Kafle of Kamalamai Municipality-5, Sindhuli, says as the monsoon has already started, the highway could get blocked any time. “We are worried that rains will wash away the temporary diversion that was built to reroute the vehicles after last year’s floods and landslides,” he adds.
The Nepalthok-Bhakunde Besi road section of highway was severely damaged by floods and landslides last year. A month after the disaster, road diversions were created to resume traffic. Those temporary roads are still in use today while the damaged highway section awaits repair works.
Maheshwor Koirala of Nepalthok-1, Sunkoshi Rural Municipality, complains the authorities concerned failed to repair the highway on time. “Because of their failure, the passengers are forced to risk their lives,” he says. The number of vehicles plying the BP Highway has witnessed a drop of more than 50 percent since last year’s disaster.
Jhamak Bahadur Thapa, a transport operator, advises against traveling through the highway during heavy rainfall. “The temporary diversions are not reliable. They could get washed away in case of rainfall,” he says. With fewer vehicles traveling these days, local businesses have also taken a hit. Development works have also been affected, as vehicles are unable to transport construction materials.
Netra Bikram Thapa, who runs a hotel and EV charging station along the highway, is struggling to keep his business going these days. “I invested millions to start this business, now I am regretting my decision,” he says.
Lawmakers representing the districts connected by the BP Highway blame the federal government for not prioritizing the repair works. Lekhnath Dahal (Rajan), an elected MP from Sindhuli-2, says his repeated requests to the relevant government agencies and officials to repair the highway was ignored.
“Despite knowing the condition of the highway, the government has not shown any initiative to solve the problem. The government should allocate a budget to control Roshi and Sunkoshi rivers to avert future disasters,” he says.
Government officials say they have recently signed an agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to reconstruct the damaged sections of the highway. According to the Road Division Office, About 12 km of the highway was damaged by last year’s floods and landslides, which will take around Rs 10bn to reconstruct. JICA has agreed to fund the reconstruction of the 3.2 km section of the highway from Dalabensi to Barkhekhola. The remaining sections will be repaired by the government itself. While the contract has already been signed, the actual work will only begin after this year’s monsoon is over.
