Mechi Highway Section Blocked in Ilam Due to Landslide

Ilam. The Golakharka–Rajduwali road section of the Mechi Highway has been obstructed. The road has been closed after the said road section in Golakharka, Ilam Municipality–9, subsided due to rain for two days, informed Chief District Officer Laxman Dhakal.

According to Dhakal, heavy vehicles have not been able to operate on the said road for the past four days. Although motorcycles were allowed to operate until Sunday, all types of vehicles have been completely closed since Monday after the road subsided further last night.

Due to the road obstruction, the road connection of Ilam headquarters, Panchthar, and Taplejung with Jhapa has been cut off. A large number of cargo and other vehicles going from Ilam, Panchthar, and Taplejung to Jhapa and coming from Jhapa to Ilam, Panchthar, and Taplejung are stopped on both sides of the Mai River.

"Due to the daily rain, the road is subsiding and landslides are increasing," said Chief District Officer Dhakal. "Until Sunday, we allowed motorcycles to operate. As the risk has increased further, we have completely closed this road section indefinitely from today."

The Tilkeni–Simlagola road, which has been used as an alternative route for the Rajduwali section, has also been obstructed after the diversion of the Jogmai River was washed away by the flood on Sunday. Similarly, the diversion of the Puwa River under the Kachena–Kanchenjungha road (Mechi Corridor), a short route connecting Ilam and Jhapa, was also washed away by the flood, cutting off the road connection of Ilam, Panchthar, and Taplejung with Jhapa, informed Deputy Superintendent of Police Laxmi Bhandari of the District Police Office, Ilam.

According to the head of the Road Division Ilam, Bhuwan Bhattarai, the civil structure for installing Bailey bridges over Jogmai and Puwa rivers was prepared a month and a half ago, but the problem has not been resolved as the materials for the Bailey bridge provided free of charge by the Indian government have not arrived yet.

With the road completely blocked, general public traveling for essential work are forced to walk across the landslide-affected Rajduwali section to reach their destinations.