KATHMANDU: Traffic along the Narayanghat–Muglin road section will be temporarily suspended to facilitate slope-cutting work at the landslide-prone Tuin Khola area.
The Chitwan Division Road Office has instructed the contractor responsible for landslide mitigation to prepare for excavation work requiring temporary road closures.
According to the office’s engineer Arjun Ghimire, a meeting will be held at the District Administration Office on Saturday to determine the timing of traffic restrictions. The work will begin once the administration approves the schedule.
The contractor has already mobilized an excavator and a loader to the Tuin Khola site.
Ghimire said the hazardous slopes could be cleared within about two months if traffic is halted for two to three hours each day. As traffic volume is relatively lower during the daytime, the office has proposed carrying out the work during those hours.
The Narayanghat–Muglin road is considered the country’s transportation lifeline, with around 10,000 vehicles using the route daily.
Babari Construction has been awarded a Rs 222.1 million contract to stabilize the vulnerable slopes on the Narayanghat side of Tuin Khola and the Muglin side of Namsi. The project is scheduled to be completed within the next 10 months.
In the first phase, workers will use jackhammers while suspended by ropes to remove unstable rock masses manually. The slopes will then be reinforced through a technique known as rock nailing, in which steel rods are drilled into the hillside and covered with wire mesh to prevent future landslides.
The Tuin Khola section has remained highly vulnerable since landslides on October 19 and October 23, 2024, blocked the highway for more than 100 hours.
The unstable slope at Tuin Khola is about 105 meters high and 165 meters long, while the Namsi slope measures 60 meters in height and 100 meters in length.
According to the Road Office, there are 43 locations along the Narayanghat–Muglin highway that face moderate to high landslide risks.
To ensure rapid response during emergencies, heavy equipment has been stationed at Muglin and Seti Dobhan. A loader has been deployed at Muglin, while Seti Dobhan has been equipped with a loader, excavator, backhoe loader, tipper truck, trailer and mini excavator.
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