Vehicular traffic resumes on Mechi Highway after 15 days

ILAM: The Mechi Highway, which had been blocked by a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall on October 4, has reopened from Sunday.

According to Chief District Officer of Ilam, Sunita Nepal, traffic movement along the Ilam–Rajdhuwa road section of the Mechi Highway in Ilam Municipality–9 resumed from 9:00 pm on Saturday.

Pawan Bhattarai, chief of the Division Road Office, Ilam, also said the highway was reopened following two weeks of continuous efforts by the office, local residents and security personnel. “The landslide was massive, and daily ground subsidence made clearance operations time-consuming and challenging,” he said. “After consistent effort, we have finally managed to reopen the road. We urge all stakeholders to cooperate by allowing only one heavy vehicle at a time through the landslide-affected area.”

With the resumption of highway traffic, travel between Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung to Jhapa and vice versa has now become easier.

During the highway closure, a temporary route along the Tilkeni–Simlagurai road section had been opened on Wednesday for light vehicles. An alternative diversion was also built over the Jogmai River, connecting Namsaling in Maijogmai Rural Municipality–4 with Godak in Ilam Municipality–10 to facilitate movement.

Meanwhile, the Mechi Corridor (Kechana–Kanchenjunga Road), another alternative route, still remains closed. The Bailey bridge over the Puwakhola River was washed away by floods and the concrete bridge over the Mai River in Belase was damaged by the floods, bringing vehicular movement on the corridor to a grinding halt, according to the Division Road Office, Ilam.