Floods Halt BP Highway, Cut Bridge Links, and Capsize Stranded Cruise
Monsoon floods have severed parts of the BP Highway and damaged a Kaligandaki bridge approach, while Nepal's first tourist cruise ship capsized during a rescue operation on the Narayani River.
Monsoon-triggered floods and landslides across central Nepal have severed key transit links and caused severe infrastructural damage, obstructing major highways and triggering an ill-fated rescue operation on the Narayani River.
In Kavrepalanchok, authorities are working to clear blockages along the BP Highway after torrential rainfall and swelling waters from the Roshi River triggered extensive debris flows and erosion, according to Onlinekhabar. The route remains shut following landslides at Chaukidanda in Namobuddha-6, as well as Charsaybesi, Gimdi Besi, and Mamti in Roshi Rural Municipality. The Roshi Khola also washed out an active road diversion at Chaukidanda.
Kavre Chief District Officer Gopal Kumar Adhikari stated that while debris clearance is advancing on the Khurkot-Bhaktundebesi section, reopening the highway could take until Tuesday afternoon. Adhikari noted that Road Division Office technicians reported substantial road destruction on the Kavre side along a Japanese-funded segment, prolonging clearing operations.
Further west, the Kaligandaki River severely damaged the motorable bridge linking Nawalparasi (Bardaghat-Susta East) with Tanahun, Nepal Watch reported. Floodwaters washed away the approach road and eroded the foundation on the Nawalpur side, cutting vehicular and pedestrian traffic between Baudikali Rural Municipality-2 in Dedhgaun and Ghiring Rural Municipality in Tanahun. Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Pandit of the District Police Office in Nawalparasi (Bardaghat-Susta East) noted that the damaged structure forms part of the Gandaki provincial highway, the shortest overland corridor connecting Nawalpur to Pokhara.
Meanwhile, efforts on Monday to retrieve a luxury passenger ship wedged against a highway bridge over the Narayani River ended in disaster. As reported by Onlinekhabar, the 100-foot-long, three-storey vessel named Rhino Cruise had been torn from its moorings and swept into a bridge pillar on the Gaindakot bank. The operators stated that although the 70-tonne craft was anchored with 20-millimetre cables, floating trees crashed into the vessel and snapped the lines.
While Onlinekhabar reported that the ship broke loose on Sunday evening, Nagarik News stated the incident occurred on Saturday evening. Authorities deployed three cranes on Monday to pull the craft to shore to prevent structural damage to the bridge. However, Nagarik News reported that the Rs 150 million vessel—Nepal's first commercial cruise ship—capsized into the river after losing its balance while being towed toward the Gaindakot shoreline.