Daunne road reopens one-way after 21-hour blockage
The blockage began around 5 PM on Thursday evening after light rainfall made the road muddy and impassable.
KATHMANDU: After remaining blocked for over 21 hours, one-way traffic has resumed along the Daunne section of the East-West Highway.
Stranded travelers, who had been stuck due to the obstruction, were finally able to continue toward their destinations from around 2:15 PM on Friday.
District Police Chief Yadav Dhakal reported that he had personally been at Daunne since 5 AM to coordinate road repair efforts and ensure the highway could reopen as soon as possible.
According to him, although traffic is currently moving only in one direction, vehicles have started to pass through the section.
The blockage began around 5 PM on Thursday evening after light rainfall made the road muddy and impassable.
To reduce congestion at Daunne, police had held back heavy vehicles and trucks at various points 38 kilometers away, including Rajhar, Pragatinagar, and Kawasoti.
Many vehicles had been stranded in the jungle section of the Butwal-Narayangadh road corridor, where passengers lacked access even to drinking water.
Travelers have expressed frustration over the repeated traffic jams, which they blame on reckless competition among drivers trying to overtake one another, resulting in two- to three-lane congestion on a road meant for two-way traffic.
