KAVREPALANCHOK: The Kavrepalanchok section of the BP Highway will be closed to vehicular traffic for 12 hours each night starting July 17, as a precautionary measure during the ongoing monsoon season.

A meeting of the District Disaster Management Committee held at the District Administration Office in Dhulikhel decided to enforce the closure from Kavrebhanjyang to Nepalthok on the Sindhuli border.

The restriction will be in effect daily from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. for one month.

Chief District Officer Umesh Dhakal said the nighttime ban is aimed at minimizing risks of accidents, floods, and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall.

Vehicles from Kathmandu will be stopped at Kavrebhanjyang, while those heading toward the capital will be halted at Nepalthok.

Last year’s monsoon severely damaged an eight-kilometer stretch of the highway between Chaukidanda in Kavrepalanchok and Barkhekhola in Sindhuli. In response, authorities had built a temporary road along the river to facilitate limited traffic.

The 160-kilometer BP Highway is a key lifeline linking eastern Nepal to Kathmandu, with hundreds of vehicles using the route daily.

Of its total length, 84 kilometers were damaged during last year’s monsoon. This includes 34 kilometers between Khurkot and Nepalthok (Section 3) and 50 kilometers from Nepalthok to Dhulikhel (Section 4), according to the Division Road Office in Bhaktapur.

Efforts are currently underway to award contracts for the permanent reconstruction of the damaged sections in four separate phases.