Kavrepalanchowk. The BP Highway will be repaired again to prevent disruption during the upcoming festive season. According to the Bhaktapur Division Road Office, the damaged road of the highway, which was not allowed to be obstructed even in the current monsoon, will be repaired again within two weeks. Senior Divisional Engineer Suman Yogesh, chief of the office, said that the highway is being operated by constructing a temporary structure after the flood and landslide about a year ago.

According to the Office, the road constructed for the operation of traffic by filling temporary filling at a height of a few feet after the flood and landslide has been constructed as a precautionary measure to prevent damage in the current rain. Gabion mesh walls have been erected to prevent the damage caused to Chowkidanda, Katunjebesi, Mangaltar and Mamti towards Kavrepalanchowk.

Senior Divisional Engineer Yogesh, chief of the office, said that 15-15 equipment of the contractors as well as seven equipment including dozers, tippers and loaders have been kept ready in the road section where the office has been awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the road.

The government has initiated the process to reconstruct the 29-km road under the BP Highway, which was damaged by floods and landslides in 2081 BS, into four sections. Eight kilometers of road was completely washed away by the flood. Three sections in Kavrepalanchowk and one section in Sindhuli will be completed within two years for the reconstruction of the damaged BP Highway.

After the road section was damaged, those who wanted to go east through that route in dashain last year used an alternative route. Yogesh said, “The highway was not allowed to be blocked this monsoon, now we are starting repairs again to prevent disruption during festivals including Dussehra.” According to him, the builders will open the project in case of floods and landslides. According to Yogashe, the contractors have been deployed to open the road in case of floods and landslides. In view of the festival, there is a plan to improve the road by filling the potholes.

Vehicular movement on the highway has been banned for another 15 days from August 15. According to the Kavrepalanchowk District Administration Office, vehicular movement has been suspended for 12 hours at night till mid-August.

A meeting of the District Security Committee held on Sunday decided to ban the operation of passenger and private vehicles on the highway from 5:00 pm to 5:00 am. According to the office, the highway has been closed for another 15 days from Kavrebhanjyang to Sindhuli-Border Nepalthok.

At present, around 3,000 vehicles ply on the highway every day. The contract has been signed for the reconstruction of the highway in two years by making two packages towards Kavrepalanchowk and one towards Sindhuli.

However, the construction work will start only after the monsoon is over. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will work on the five-km road section of the damaged highway. JICA will construct 3.2 km road from Piple to Barkhe Khola. For this, the final survey has been completed.

Yogesh said that the maintenance work of this section will be done under the office until the contract agreement is reached. The highway is currently intermediate lane and now it will be two-lane.

The government has provided Rs 7.5 billion to Bhaktapur Road Division and Rs 1 billion to Khurkot road section in Sindhuli for the permanent construction and repair of the damaged BP Highway.

The construction of bp highway (Dhulikhel-Sindhuli-Bardibas 160 km road) was started from the fiscal year 2053÷54 BS with the grant assistance of the Japanese government. The Government of Japan formally handed over the highway to the Government of Nepal on July 1, 2018. The highway is considered as a short route connecting the central capital Kathmandu with mid-hill and eastern Nepal.