Damaged Roads Threaten Dashain Travel
Summary
Damaged highways, landslides and risky road conditions are making Dashain travel home more difficult for hundreds of thousands of people leaving the Kathmandu Valley. Authorities are urging tighter traffic management, safer vehicles and faster road repairs to reduce delays and accidents.
Key Points
- About 1.5 million people are expected to leave the Kathmandu Valley for Dashain, with up to 975,000 traveling by transport.
- Floods and landslides have damaged about 7,000 kilometres of roads, including major routes such as the Araniko Highway, BP Highway and Nagdhunga-Mugling section.
- Transport safety concerns include congestion, ticket black-marketing, vehicle overloading, driver fatigue and the risk of fresh landslides.
- The Department of Roads and other authorities are stepping up maintenance, rescue teams and monitoring, but long-term investment in safer roads is still needed.
