Beni-Jomsom road posing threat to people’s lives

Myagdi, August 17

Amamaya Garbuja of Begkhola, Raghuganga Rural Municipality, sustained injuries after a mound of landslide hit her while heading towards Dana of Myagdi from Ghasa of Mustang yesterday.

She fractured her left hand when she slipped around 10 metres down to the banks of the Kaligandaki River due to landslide. Army personnel, police and locals rescued her from the debris. She was then taken to Beni Hospital for further treatment.

In yet another incident, a landslide that occurred in Nagdhunga of Annapurna Rural Municipality on July 21 took the life of Jhalak Pun, 32, of ward 3 of the same rural municipality.

He died on the spot after being buried in the landslide while heading home in Kavre from Beni.

Likewise, Gyan Bahadur Pun of Mangala Rural Municipality, met a tragic death after he fell into the Kaligandaki River from a cliff in Annapurna Rural Municipality on July 14. His body was found the next day in the river.

In the past one month, two people have lost their lives and one has sustained injuries in landslides along the Beni-Jomsom road section.

Travel along the road stretch has become precarious due to recurring incidents of landslide. The roads are quite congested so accidents are frequent, said locals.

Travellers have to go through various landslide-prone places along the Beni-Jomsom road which has been obstructed since July 10.

Jeet Bahadur Purja, a local of Dana, said complications in changing vehicles on the road section and precarious passage through landslide debris have made travel unsafe and unreliable. The 76-km Beni-Jomsom road section has been disrupted due to landslides, which has made life hard here, he said.

Feature Photo: File

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 18, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.