Since Chaitra 14, the BP Highway has been repeatedly blocked with normal rainfall. The 8-kilometer road in this section has been built by diverting the river. As a result, when the temporary diversion built in the Roshi River floods, traffic is disrupted. The flood has caused damage from Chowkidanda to Barkhekhola in this section. The most problematic areas are Katunjebensi, Charsay Besi, Narke, Chiuribas, Boksikuna, Kaldhunga, and Piple.

The road is closed and opened after the temporary diversion built in the river is washed away by the flood, said Suman Yogesh, head of the Road Division Office, Bhaktapur, who has been doing it for some time. ‘Wherever the road was washed away by the flood, road construction is underway in the upper sections of those places,’ he said. ‘Until this structure is built, the problem of driving vehicles by creating a diversion in the river has been caused by the flood.’ He said that work is being done to drive vehicles on the road during the rainy season.

This route came into operation to ease movement in the capital after the flood washed away the BP Highway. Ambulances carrying essential goods, patients and passenger buses have been using this route as an alternative. Freight vehicles also often ply this route. After the flood washed away the temporary diversion, the company that took the road construction contract is doing the work of rebuilding and bringing it into operation in the same section and there will be no additional financial burden on the state, according to the Road Division Office, Bhaktapur. So what is the alternative if the BP Highway is washed away by the flood? Chief Suman Yogesh says, ‘Pushpalal (Mid-Hill) Highway’.

After the flood in Asoj 2081 washed away the BP Highway, Pushpalal (Mid-Hill) is being built as an alternative route connecting the east to the capital Kathmandu. Vehicles going to Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga, Solukhumbu, Khotang and the eastern Terai have been using the Pushpalal route since the BP Highway was blocked. This route has been put into operation to ease movement in the capital after the flood washed away the BP Highway. Ambulances carrying essential and sick people and passenger buses have been using this route as an alternative. Freight vehicles also often ply this route.

A new track has been dug after the Tamakoshi River eroded 400 meters of Pushpalal Marg near the power house of the Khimti Hydropower Center in Kirnetar, Tamakoshi Rural Municipality-5, during the flood of 12 Asoj 2001. The Road Division Office, Sindhuli, has awarded a contract of Rs 190 million to restore the 1.2 kilometers damaged by the flood to its original condition.

The pace of work is slow. As a result, the road is currently being constructed in the same area where the Khimti Hydropower Center office is located. Sudarshan Upreti, Information Officer at the Road Division Office, Sindhuli, said that the construction of the Khimti Hydropower Center road can be completed even if the Tamakoshi River is diverted before the monsoon.

‘Work is being done to prevent the Pushpalal Marg, which is BP’s alternative, from being blocked,’ Upreti said, ‘The road with embankment will be constructed in the Khimti section before the monsoon, and we have asked the construction company in other places to arrange machinery so that it will not be blocked and will be opened immediately if it happens.’ From Khurkot, Manthali in Ramechhap is reached in 17 kilometers. From Manthali, Tamakoshi is reached in 35 kilometers. From Tamakoshi, Charikot in Dolakha is reached in 17 kilometers. After covering a distance of 55 kilometers from Charikot, the Araniko Highway at Khadichaur in Sindhupalchowk is reached. After covering 78 kilometers from there, Kathmandu is reached.

Charikot in Dolakha is reached in 17 kilometers from Tamakoshi. After covering a distance of 55 kilometers from Charikot, the Araniko Highway in Khadichaur in Sindhupalchowk is reached. There is a two-lane blacktop road from Khurkot to Tamakoshi and from Tamakoshi to Kathmandu. After passing about 34 kilometers of road through this route and the Sitkha motorable bridge connecting Sindhuli, through Khandadevi Rural Municipality, an alternative road has been opened to Manthali. This road is being used as an alternative for long journeys, said Narayan Dutta Bhandari, head of the Road Division Office, Charikot.

From Manthali, it is directly connected to Kathmandu via Pushpalal Marg via Charikot in Dolakha. ‘A contract worth Rs 130 million has been awarded for road repair in flood-damaged areas, and the work is satisfactory,’ he said. He said that since there is a general problem in Kalidaha on the Tamakoshi-Manthali road section, a detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared for it. Before the opening of the BP Highway, locals in that area used to travel on this road.

After the flood damaged the bridge in Khurkot, there is an alternative road from Khurkot to Ramechhap and Sindhuli, after crossing the Sitkha motorable bridge through Khandadevi rural municipality and crossing the road for about 34 kilometers to Manthali. Thakur Prasad Bhattarai, Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Dolakha, said that drivers should pay attention to speed when using the Pushpalal road as it has double lanes.

The flood of Asoj 2081 caused more damage to the 30.5 km area from Bhakundebensi to Nepalthok along the BP Highway. Work is underway on the 27.3 km section, excluding the 3.2 km of the damaged highway. The contract has been signed in three packages towards Kavre and Sindhuli. The road is currently being constructed in two lanes.

Lama-Nawakantipur JV has won the contract for the 11 km section of the highway from Bhakundebensi to Charsayabensi for Rs 1.14 billion. The contract for the 9 km stretch from Charsaybensi to Dalabensi was signed with Khani-Kamaljit-Avan JV for Rs 1.22 billion excluding VAT. Both contracts were signed in Ashar 2082.

The contract for the 2.3 km stretch from Piple to Dalabensi was signed with Uma & Company-Bhandari-Amarjyoti JV in Kartik 2082. The contract amount for this section is Rs 688 million. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will construct a 3.2 km road from Piple to Barkhekhola. The road is being constructed on this section with a grant of Rs 2.63 billion from the Japanese government.

Suman Yogesh, Chief of the Road Division Office, Bhaktapur, says that work is being done to operate vehicles on the road currently under construction from Asad 1. The work has not been completed yet. The Road Division Bhaktapur is also working on this section to ensure that there are no problems during the rainy season. The 5 km stretch from Barkhekhola to Nepalthok falls in Sindhuli. The contract for the section has been awarded to Kharidhunga-Ghising-Kshitij JV. Its contract amount is Rs 550 million excluding VAT. The work on all sections should be completed within two years from the date of the agreement.

Suman Yogesh, Chief of the Road Division Office, Bhaktapur, says that work is being done to operate vehicles on the road currently under construction from Asad 1. ‘During the rainy season, vehicles will not have to drive through the river,’ he said. ‘Out of the 25 km distance, about 8 km of diversion has been made and vehicles are being driven through the river.’ 

More than 4,000 vehicles ply this highway daily. After the recent rains disrupted the BP Highway and affected traffic, a team led by Ashish Gajurel, chairman of the Infrastructure Development Committee under the House of Representatives, returned from an on-site inspection of the flooded road a few days ago. "Work is being done to allow vehicles to travel on the road during the rainy season. Since the blacktop road is not built before the rainy season, travel will not be that easy if it is being built. However, it was seen that traffic will not be stopped during the rainy season," he said. "The work is going well and it was found that machinery is being used adequately at the construction site."