Key Takeaways:

• Highway blocked since Aug 30 after Trishuli River erosion caused subsidence at Krishna Bhir
• 10 machines, 30 personnel working 12–14 hours daily, with floodlights enabling night construction
• New 250m track being cut through hillside, based on recommendations from geotechnical assessment teams
• Crisis revives memories of 1998–2001 landslides, when the highway was blocked for 11 days and required Rs35m control works

KRISHNABHIR, SEPTEMBER 12 The government has deployed 10 machines and 30 personnel to reopen the road section at Krishnabhir along the Prithvi Highway in Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality-5, Dhading. The road has been blocked since August 30 after the lower section collapsed due to severe erosion by the Trishuli River. Authorities aim to reopen the section by the end of September by cutting through the hillside and constructing a new track of around 250 metres. Work is being carried out for 12 to 14 hours a day, including at night, after the Armed Police Force Nepal installed floodlights at the construction site. Work is also underway on both the upper and lower sides of the road to prevent further landslides. The road was weakened by the Bhotekoshi flood on August 26 and further damaged by another flood on August 30. A government team inspected the site the same day, after which technicians from the Department of Roads and the Nepal Geotechnical Society conducted a rapid four-day study. The study recommended constructing a new track by cutting through the hillside. The government began the work based on the technical recommendation. Krishnabhir had caused major disruptions to traffic between 1998 and 2001, when frequent landslides made the Prithvi Highway highly risky during the monsoon. On August 11, 2000, a massive landslide occurred after around 800 metres of land shifted. The slide, measuring about 230 metres in height and 200 metres in width, completely blocked the highway for 11 days. The area was subsequently stabilised through a combination of geotechnical and bioengineering measures, including retaining walls, gabion structures and the plantation of fast-growing vegetation. The work, which took around four years and cost approximately Rs 35 million, was considered a major example of landslide control in Nepal. Geologists have warned that the area has again become vulnerable due to riverbank erosion, its naturally weak geological formation, excavation during road expansion and vibrations caused by heavy vehicles. The lack of regular maintenance of protective structures has also contributed to the renewed risk, they said. The prolonged disruption of the highway has affected the transportation of essential goods, including liquefied petroleum gas, to Kathmandu Valley. Traders have been using alternative and longer routes to transport supplies. Police have been deployed around the clock at Krishnabhir in view of increased vehicle movement during the festival season.