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The Kulekhani-Phakhel and Sisneri-Dakshinkali road sections have been closed for three days beginning today.

Shyamu Aryal, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of the District Police Office, Makawanpur, said that both the road sections would be shut for three days to fix hume pipes in Simkhola of Indrasarovar Rural Municipality-2 in Makawanpur district.

The drivers have been urged to travel along the alternative routes for three days. DSP Aryal suggested that travel could be done along the routes of Hetauda-Bhainse-Palung-Kathmandu and Hetauda-Thingan-Kathmandu.

Vehicular movement along the Buddhasingh road in Tanahun district was obstructed for 20 days after the landslides at Naldighat area in Vyas Municipality, Tanahun.

The local people have suffered severely after the vehicular obstruction for such a long time.

Several landslides were cleared along the Buddhasingh road but the landslides at Naldighat are yet to be cleared.

Coordinator of Buddhasingh Road Concern Committee, Siddhanta Thapa, said that their repeated pleas to clear the debris were unheard.

It is said that the locals of Bandipur Rural Municipality-6, Aabukhairani Rural Municipality-5 and Devghat Rural Municipality-3 and 4 have suffered the most after the vehicular obstruction there.   

The Gandaki Province Government has advanced the processes to develop this road as an alternative to Prithvi Highway to connect Tanahun and Chitwan districts.

Currently, preliminary works have been initiated to blacktop the Damauli-Sundhe section of the road.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has said that the country now has an impact of westerly winds and the hilly belt of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces have slight impacts of local winds too. 

The Department said that the temperatures across the country including in the Kathmandu Valley have dropped with the end of the monsoon season.

The minimum temperature of Kathmandu was recorded at 16 degrees Celsius today while the maximum temperature is predicted to remain in between 26 to 28 degrees Celsius. 

According to the Department, the weather is expected to remain partly to generally cloudy in the hilly areas and partly cloudy to mainly fair in the rest of the country. Light rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at a few places in the hilly region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and at one or two places in the hilly region of the rest of the country.

Likewise, it is predicted that the weather will remain partly to generally cloudy in the hilly areas of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces and partly cloudy to mainly fair in the rest of the country.

Light rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places in the hilly region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces.

The road has been opened for the construction of the Dodhara Chandani Dry Port in Kanchanpur’s Dodhara Chandani Municipality. On September 18, the Government of Nepal approved the use of 42.36 hectares of Mayapuri Community Forest land, located in Shuklaphanta National Park, for the project, and construction has officially begun.

Although plans for the dry port were discussed for over a decade, actual progress only started following the recent decision by the Council of Ministers. Anish KC, Engineer at the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee, confirmed the approval to use the national park land, stating, “We will provide compensation to the park, after which the park office will authorize tree cutting.”

The dry port is being developed with financial and technical support from the Government of India, which has already initiated the tender process. Construction is expected to be completed within three years, with an estimated cost of Rs 5.75bn.

According to Gokarna Awasthi, Director General of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the dry port will open up new opportunities for Sudurpaschim. “If the border is opened, it will facilitate movement between Nepal and India, eliminating the need for long detours,” he said. He emphasized the potential for industrial and agricultural development, particularly with easy access to markets in India’s Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Awasthi also stressed the importance of infrastructure development in Sudurpaschim, calling for improvements in air and road connectivity to support trade. He highlighted the potential for Indian industries to establish branches in Nepal and export goods from the region.

Local business leaders are optimistic about the dry port’s impact. Dinesh Malla, Senior Vice President of the Kanchanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “The port will reduce both the cost and time of trade in Sudurpaschim, given its proximity to Indian industrial hubs.”

The Intermodal Transport Development Committee outlined plans to construct two warehouse buildings, a customs check facility, a quarantine building, an immigration office, and a security building. The government first proposed the dry port in 2007, but work stalled until now.

Business leaders believe that the port’s construction will unlock significant economic potential for the region.