September 29: The Department of Roads has halted the repair of Naubise-Nagdhunga road section due to excessive traffic jam. The department has postponed the work for about a week stating that the repair has been affected due to the large number of commuters returning home to celebrate Dashain. According to the department, it will resume the repair and maintenance from October 8 once the traffic congestion reduces.

The road section, which is the major exit point from the capital, has witnessed a surge in the number of people leaving for their hometown to celebrate Dashain. This, on top of the repair work, had resulted in a hours-long traffic jam causing inconvenience to the commuters.

Director General of the Department of Roads Keshav Kumar Sharma said that the traffic jam caused inconvenience to the repair work and vice versa. So, the work has been halted for the time being.

He clarified that the department was trying to carry out the repair work one month ago but couldn’t do so due to rainfall.

“We started repair from September 23 but immediately halted the work after noticing a surge in traffic jam,” said Sharma.

He further said that all activities related to repair and maintenance have been halted until October 7. During this period, the department will carry our repair only in if it is required due to emergency circumstances.  

Commuters meanwhile have expressed their grievances due to the traffic congestion.

“It took almost 11 hours for us to reach Naubise from Nagdhunga,” said Dharma Raj Neupane, a local of Kailali.

Neupane added that the locals took advantage of the situation by selling food items at an exorbitantly high price to the hapless passengers.