Hima BK

KATHMANDU: The committee formed by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport to study the Simaltal landslide incident has identified unplanned road construction by local authorities as the primary reason for the landslide which swept away two buses on the Narayangarh-Mugling road section almost two weeks ago.

The report by the study committee concludes that stones and debris from the poorly planned local road caused the landslide. The finding aligns with longstanding warnings from the Department of Roads and experts about the heightened risks from the poorly built roads.

A landslide swept away two buses with 65 people onboard, including the drivers, into the raging Trishuli River early morning on July 12 at Simaltal in Chitwan district. 

While three of the passengers survived the incident, rescuers have recovered bodies of some other passengers from the river.

The ministry formed the study committee on July 14 under the coordination of Engineer Gyanendra Kumar Jha, chief of the Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office, Kathmandu, to submit a report within one week.

The committee submitted its report with suggestions to the ministry on Monday.

An officer from the committee informed New Business Age that the accident happened due to a landslide that occurred during heavy rainfall.

Ramesh Prasad Paudel, divisional head of the Road Division in Bharatpur, said that the landslide began from a 650-metre stretch of road excavated by the Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29 office in Dumre village.

"The landslide occurred from about 900 metres above. The ground itself is very sensitive with a steep slope," Paudel said.

Paudel also criticised local officials for continuing the road work despite multiple warnings to halt it.

“A dozer was used in the construction of the road ignoring consideration for environmental impact assessment, design, or survey,” he said.

Surya Bahadur Gurung, ward chairman at Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29, said that the road was made above the Muglin-Narayangarh road section to connect the village.

“It is said that the mud excavated during the construction got washed away during the rain and caused the accident, but in my observation the landslide was not so big to wash away the buses.”

Gurung mentioned that the road has been under construction for the past 15 years.

“Though people have been blaming the road we built for the landslide, the Narayangarh-Mugling road has always been prone to landslides,” said Gurung.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Report clearly states that the Narayangadh-Muglin road section was geographically weak even before its expansion, with chances of landslides occurring annually. The local road excavation further added to the risks of landslides.

Paudel said that vehicular movement along the road was blocked for 134 hours due to 36 landslides in a year from mid-April 2022 and for 124 hours due to 30 landslides in a year from mid-April 2023.

“This year, there have been six landslides causing 19 hours of road blockage,” he added. “This incident marks the first human loss since mid-April 2022.”

In the Public Roads Act, 2031, there is a provision to obtain permission from the Department of Roads to open an access road.

"We have not been able to stop the construction of access roads," said Sushil Babu Dhakal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

Questions, however, have been raised about the geological condition of the road section and the ongoing construction activities around it after the Simaltal landslide.

Monika Jha, deputy director general and Spokesperson for the Department of Mines and Geology, said that there is always risk of landslides in the road section due to the presence of weak rocks as the section lies in the Chure area.

In 2008, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted a study on landslides in the Narayangarh-Mugling section. Srikamal Dwivedi, a senior geologist who participated in the study, noted that any road construction, excavation, or hill cutting would increase the risk on this highway. "Landslides occurring on steep ground are a natural phenomenon," he said.