CHITWAN: Traffic will be temporarily stopped at Tuin Khola along the Narayangadh–Muglin road section to clear hazardous roadside cliffs.

The Division Road Office, Chitwan, has directed the construction company contracted for landslide control to prepare for the rock-cutting work.

According to Division Engineer Arjun Ghimire, discussions will take place on Saturday with the District Administration Office. Work will commence once the traffic closure schedule is finalized in consultation with the local administration.

The construction company has already dispatched an excavator and a loader to the Tuin Khola site.

Ghimire estimated that clearing the precarious earth mounds would take roughly two months if traffic is halted for two to three hours daily.

He noted that the administration will be requested to allow closures during daytime hours, when traffic volumes are relatively lower.

This arterial highway serves as a vital lifeline to the capital, carrying around 10,000 vehicles daily.

Babari Construction secured the contract worth Rs 222.1 million to mitigate landslide risks on the Narayangadh-side wall near Tuin Khola and the cliff toward Muglin at Namsi.

The company is required to complete operations at both sites within the next 10 months.

In the initial phase, workers suspended on ropes will use jackhammers to manually scale down the high-risk overhangs.

Subsequently, steel rods will be drilled into the rock face and secured with external wire mesh to prevent further landslides—a stabilization technique known as soil netting. Both sites will undergo this procedure.

At Tuin Khola, a major landslide hotspot, debris falls on September 19 and 23 last year shut down the highway for more than 100 hours.

The affected cliff face measures 105 meters high and 165 meters long, while the Namsi cliff toward Muglin stands 60 meters high and 100 meters long.

The area became severely unstable after a sudden landslide struck Tuin Khola last year along a hillside previously cut during road expansion years ago.

Across this road section, 43 locations are identified as moderate to high landslide risk zones.

To handle potential collapses at any time, heavy equipment remains stationed at Muglin and Seti Dobhan.

Equipment includes a loader at Muglin, as well as a loader, excavator, backhoe loader, tipper truck, trailer, and mini-excavator at Seti Dobhan.