Dhankuta. A passenger bus that left Taplejung for Kathmandu got stuck in the Nawa River in the border area of Panchthar and Dhankuta under the Tamor Corridor on Friday afternoon.
District Police Office Dhankuta said that the bus got stuck in the middle when the river was flooded due to continuous rains. Police inspector Pandav Rajwanshi informed that all the passengers in the bus were rescued. After the bus got stuck, around 30 passengers in the bus were shifted to a safe place with the help of JCB, he said.
Bus No. 1-01-001 B 4233 got stuck in Nawa river. The bus has also been pulled out with the help of JCB. Due to rain since Thursday morning, the water level has increased in various rivers including Nawa river. Due to the high water flow in the river, the traffic on the Tamor Corridor road section has been completely blocked.
The Tamor Corridor is an important route connecting the Terai region of Morang and Sunsari along with Biratnagar, the capital of Koshi province, through Dhankuta to Panchthar, Tehrathum to the Himalayan district Taplejung. However, due to the lack of construction of a concrete bridge over the Nawa river, the problem of road blockage is recurring as soon as there is a flood during the rainy season.
Although the contract for the construction of the bridge has been awarded, the construction has not been completed even though the deadline has been extended several times. As a result, commuters and local residents have been suffering in commuting.