With the onset of monsoon, 155 pieces of equipment have been mobilized on various sections of highways across the country to remove landslides. An additional 122 pieces of equipment have been deployed. The Mechanical Division under the Roads Department has arranged equipment to be able to remove landslides on highways at risk of landslides as soon as they occur. There are a total of 277 pieces of equipment under the department. 

Shyam Bahadur Khadka, Deputy Director General and Spokesperson of the Roads Department, said that equipment has been sent to various places to temporarily manage highways that are blocked by landslides during monsoons. ‘Equipment has been sent to various sections of various highways at risk of landslides and kept in readiness,’ he said. ‘If the equipment currently managed is insufficient, work can also be done by asking the private sector and construction entrepreneurs.’ 

A ‘task force’ has been formed under the coordination of the Roads Division and the concerned project head to operate blocked traffic keeping in mind disaster management in various districts under the Roads Department. The department has stated that 10 bailey bridges have been kept in readiness across the country so that they can be taken to the required places immediately. ‘We have made preparations to immediately operate vehicular traffic by installing bailey bridges if necessary or if the bridge is damaged by floods,’ said Khadka. The government has allocated Rs 3.17 billion for the upcoming fiscal year for sustainable management of landslides. 

‘A separate budget has been allocated for the upcoming fiscal year to solve the long-term problem of landslides on highways,’ he said, ‘We will start work by giving priority to the sections with problems, some have been studied, we will implement them, and some are being prepared to study and implement them.’ 

On the road sections where work is being done under contract, the construction business will clear the landslides using the equipment of the construction business in the presence of the technical staff of the concerned project. Bhuwan Adhikari, Deputy Director General of the Road Department and Chief of the Mechanical Division, said that excavators, tippers and trucks have been sent to areas at risk of landslides. There are 16 Heavy Equipment Divisions and Mechanical Offices across the country. The equipment has been sent to the roads under these offices. 

277 pieces of equipment have been prepared for the monsoon. ‘Two loaders and tippers have been sent to some places with a high risk of landslides,’ the official said. ‘Management has been made for trucks and tippers to carry them to places with high risk and where they should not be thrown after a landslide occurs nearby.’ He said that some of the equipment has been mobilized for the Mahakali River conservation work. 12 pieces of equipment have been mobilized because there is a risk of flooding and entering the settlement.

According to the Mechanical Division, the BP Highway has been the most problematic for the past two years. Since a new road track is being built there under a contract, construction contractors’ equipment will be mobilized to remove landslides. The chief officer of the Mechanical Division said that there is also a Kodari section under the Araniko Highway, which is always prone to landslides. Equipment has been sent for this place. 

‘The Narayangadh-Muglin road section is at risk of landslides every day during the monsoon season,’ the official said, ‘The Kanti Highway connecting the capital also has the same problem of landslides.’ 

The Karnali Highway is among the highways that are affected by floods and landslides for a long time. Equipment has been sent to various sections of the Mechi Highway as well as the risk of landslides. ‘The Palpa-Pokhara section of the Siddharth Highway also has a landslide problem, and equipment has arrived here too,’ the official said, ‘These are the sections that are mainly prone to landslides, while small/large landslides occur in other places during the monsoon season.’ He said that apart from the highway in the Terai, there is a risk of landslides in the East Mechi to West Mahakali section.

The official said that the equipment is sent based on the weather forecast of the Meteorological Forecasting Division, and an action plan is made and the equipment is sent. Equipment is sent to areas at risk of landslides on Asar 1 and kept until mid-Kartik.   'Monsoon starts from 1 Ashar. Usually, the monsoon ends by the end of Kartik,' he said, 'We return the machines from the field and send them to the relevant offices only after the big festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath are over.' He said that the equipment is sufficient to clear landslides at present. There are 80 highways across the country. The Road Department has stated that the equipment has been sent to prevent traffic from being affected due to landslides as these highways have high traffic volume.