Itahari, February 5:

The east-west highway, which was disrupted after Koshi floods swept away a portion

of it in Sunsari during last monsoon came back to operation today.

Traffic resumed on the highway after five months and 21 days, thanks to the recent success in taming of the Koshi back to its original course and construction of a diversion road.

The vehicles will have to use the diversion road until the highway is fully reconstructed.

Prayagya Yadav, engineer at Biratnagar based office of the Department of Roads, said

traffic resumed on the highway at 9 this morning.

As the diversion road is narrow, it can be used only for one-way traffic and the vehicles from two sides will use the road turn by turn.

At least 780 metres of the highway in between Sripur and Haripur VDCs was swept away by the flood.

It is said reconstruction of one third of the swept away highway has already been

completed.

It would take 15-20 days for the reconstruction to be complete, officials said.

Locals and transport workers were elated to see the resumption of the highway.

Some of them even worshipped the river goddess — Koshi Mata — after traffic resumed on the highway.