Chitwan, November 9: Traffic on the Prithvi Highway was completely disrupted late on Monday night after another dry landslide blocked the road at Ghoptebhir in Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality-4, Chitwan, Meroauto reported. The latest slide occurred at around 11:10 pm, when debris fell from the hillside above the highway and blocked both sides of the road, halting traffic between Kathmandu and other destinations.

Machinery has been deployed to remove the latest debris and the road was expected to reopen soon, according to the Muglin Bazar page cited by Meroauto. No casualties were reported in the landslides at Ghoptebhir.

Source: Meroauto

It was the third blockage at the same spot in two days. The highway had reopened only hours earlier, on Monday afternoon, after a dry landslide at about 5 am closed the Mugling-Malekhu section for nine hours. Chitwan District Police Office chief Superintendent of Police Rameshwar Paudel confirmed that vehicles began moving through the affected section in both directions from around 2:15 pm, Daily Informiq reported.

Source: Daily Informiq

3landslides at Ghoptebhir in two days
9 hoursMonday's closure of the Mugling-Malekhu section
11:10 pmwhen fresh debris blocked the highway again on Monday

Thousands of passengers were stranded by the Monday-morning closure, and clearance work was slow even four hours after the slide, with only two machines deployed and both working from one side, Meroauto reported. The same location had also been blocked by a dry landslide on Sunday morning at about 10:15 am, disrupting Tihar festival travel, before being cleared the same day.

Source: Meroauto

Officials connected with the Naubise-Mugling road section have warned that the slope at Ghoptebhir is geologically weak and that further landslides remain possible at any time. The Prithvi Highway is one of Nepal's busiest arteries, carrying traffic between the capital Kathmandu, Chitwan and Pokhara, and repeated closures there strand long-distance passengers and freight alike.