Cold Wave Havoc in Daunne: Highway Comes to a Standstill , Thousands of Travelers Stranded

Nawalparasi – Due to the ongoing extreme cold wave and thick fog in recent days, the Daunne area along the Narayangadh–Butwal section of the East–West Highway has been completely affected.

Because of the cold, the roads have become slippery and muddy, and vehicles are unable to climb uphill, causing a huge traffic jam in the Khursani Khola area. As a result, hundreds of vehicles and thousands of travelers have had to spend the night on the road in biting cold.

Road widening work and the cold wave add to the suffering

Currently, road widening work is underway on the Narayangadh–Butwal road, and many parts of the road have been excavated. Due to the moisture from the cold wave, the soil on the under-construction road has become muddy, causing vehicles to get stuck and slip in the middle of the road.

According to the District Traffic Police Office of East Nawalparasi, there is a long line of about 1,500 vehicles from Daunne to Dumkibas forest. Although police have tried to clear the jam, thick fog is reducing visibility and making rescue and vehicle movement very difficult.

Request to use alternative routes

With the road section in a fragile condition, the Narayangadh–Butwal Road Project today released a notice requesting vehicles not on urgent business to use alternative routes. Engineer Bibash Khanal said that gravel work is currently being done in the Khursani Khola area, and heavy vehicles are being stopped at Bardghat and Bhutaha. With passenger safety in mind, travelers are also urged to fully comply with traffic rules.

These are the recommended alternative roads:

To make travel easier, the project and traffic police have suggested using the following routes:

• Narayangadh–Muglin–Pokhara–Syangja–Palpa route to Butwal.

• Gaindakot (Kali Gandaki Chowk)–Rampur–Pipaldanda route.

• For vehicles traveling from Kathmandu to Butwal or further west, the Mugling–Pokhara section.