MUSTANG: The pilgrims and tourists visiting Mustang district have been left in a lurch as vehicular movement along the Beni-Jomsom road section was disrupted due to flood and landslide.

With the disruption of transportation, locals have also been facing inconvenience. Several road sections at Rupse in Myagdi and Ghansa-Lete of Mustang have also been disrupted in the natural disaster.

Locals lamented that it would take around three days to travel through the disrupted road that spans 76 kilometres in length.

Meanwhile, helicopters have been mobilised for the rescue operation for the stranded tourists, especially Indian tourists visiting the holy shrine — Muktinath Temple — in Mustang district.

More than 100 Indian tourists have been rescued from Dana to Beni using helicopters run by the private sector, shared local Indra Singh Sherchan.

Similarly, the farmers are in despair as transportation of their produces such as apples has also been adversely affected due to the road closure.

Although piles of landslide debris were removed from various places with the help of dozers brought here to build Beni-Jomsom-Korala Road, it would take some days to clear the road section, shared Beni-Jomsom-Korala Project's Engineer, Pradeep Niraula.

Likewise, the landslide has swept away some 10 metres of the road near Lete River while the Bailey bridge is at high risk of being swept away.

The health post at Kinjo and the building of Aama Samuha (Mother's Group) have been damaged. The flood has caused damages to a total of 10 houses at Sauru, Thasang Rural Municipality-2 in Manang, according to Thasang Rural Municipality chairperson Buddhi Prasad Sherchan.

House of Representatives member Prem Prasad Tulachan said that efforts have been made for the management of the landslide-affected households and to resume traffic along the Beni-Jomson road section by removing the debris and repairing the road section.