Key sections of the Mid-Hill Highway and the Kaligandaki Corridor, crucial arteries connecting Mustang and Dolpa, are expected to reopen before Dashain, according to road authorities. This development comes after two weeks of closures due to flood damage, which severely disrupted daily life, trade, and tourism in Gandaki Province’s Himalayan and hilly districts.
Krishna Raj Adhikari, chief of the Pokhara Road Division Office, stated that repairs on the Maldhunga bridge, which connects Parbat and Baglung, are underway using gabion and geobag technology. He anticipates the bridge will be operational within four to five days, ahead of the Dashain festival. Similarly, the Beni-Jomsom-Korala Road Project is working day and night to temporarily reopen the Pokharebagar bridge in Myagdi by next Monday.
Impact of the road closures
The road closures, caused by heavy rainfall from Assoj 8 to 11 (BS), damaged the approach roads to the Maldhunga bridge and the Pokharebagar bridge on the Kaligandaki River. This severed direct road access from Dolpa to the Korala border crossing, a Nepal-China trade point. As a result, hundreds of containers carrying Dashain and Tihar-focused goods from China have been stranded in Mustang, impacting importers and leading to shortages of daily necessities and soaring prices in local markets.
Farmers in Mustang are also facing the risk of their apple crops, a major attraction for Dashain, rotting due to the inability to transport them to markets. Long-distance bus services from Kathmandu and Pokhara to Rukum East, Rukum West, and Dolpa via Baglung have been completely halted.
Umesh KC, chairman of the Dhaulagiri-Gandaki Transport Service Pvt Ltd, reported that passengers are forced to travel on expensive and risky alternative routes using jeeps and microbuses. Some travelers disembark near Maldhunga, cross the Khaniyaghat suspension bridge with their luggage, and then find another vehicle to reach Baglung. Other vehicles are using longer detours via Dobilla-Phalebas-Jaiminighat and Beni-Ratnechaur.
Increased air travel demand
The disruption to road networks has led to a significant increase in passenger traffic on the Pokhara-Jomsom air route. Pilgrims traveling to Kagbeni for Pindadaan during Sohra Shraddha and tourists visiting Muktinath are now heavily reliant on air travel. According to Bishwanath Sharma, chief of Jomsom Airport, Tara Air and Summit Air, which previously operated five daily flights each, are now running up to seven flights daily to cope with the increased demand, though managing the volume remains challenging.
