Beni:A mudslide in Beni municipality-2 is significantly obstructing the Baglung-Beni road, crucial for connecting Myagdi and Mustang to the national highway. Heavy rainfall between September 24 and 27 resulted in severe flooding near Bhasabse, at the confluence of the Myagdi and Kaligandaki rivers, which led to extensive road erosion.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the situation has severely disrupted transportation services and increased the risk of accidents. The Kaligandaki River has eroded the access road to the Maldhunga bridge, a vital link between Parbat and Baglung.
As a result, vehicles traveling to and from Baglung, Rukum East-West, and the Pokhara-Kathmandu route via the Mid-Hill Highway are forced to use the alternate Baglung-Beni-Maldhunga route. Residents like Kamal Subedi of Beni-2 Khabara have voiced concerns over the road’s narrowness, which often results in vehicles getting stuck in the mud.
Subedi noted that the road has sunk by two to three meters over a 100-meter stretch due to river erosion and landslides. In the fiscal year 2081/82, the road division office in Baglung made attempts to manage groundwater and stabilize slopes to combat landslides, but the sloped road has now been entirely washed away.
Dilkumari Khatri, Acting Head of the District Coordination Committee in Myagdi, stated that while the road division office has tried to repair the damage and manage traffic with deployed equipment in Bhasabse, the challenging terrain has hampered efforts to find a permanent solution.