Flood-destroyed bridges leave Trishuli communities completely cut off

For families living along Nepal’s Trishuli River, the loss of bridges has also meant the loss of contact. Since the Aug. 26 flood, residents on opposite banks have had no reliable way to speak to or visit one another.

“

Once the flood swept away both the suspension and concrete bridges, we’ve had no news from either side. All connection has been severed.

“Once the flood swept away both the suspension and concrete bridges, we’ve had no news from either side. All connection has been severed,” said Bhuwan Prasad Ghimire, 86, from Darshantar in Nuwakot. He said he did not know when the government would restore the connection.

Ghimire recalled a flood in 1962 but said it was nothing like the latest surge. The settlement later moved closer to the river after roads and bridges were built. “Now the flood has taken everything,” he said.

“

I’m 86 years old, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Whatever came this time, it came in a surge.

The crisis extends across villages in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. The flood destroyed 35 concrete bridges, while the number of damaged suspension bridges remains unknown. Only one bridge in Galchhi is still intact, making the alternate route through Dhading to the Nuwakot-Rasuwa border a lifeline.

“

Crossing used to take five minutes by bridge. Now it takes four to five hours on foot via Galchhi.

Dhan Bahadur Adhikari, 78, said crossing from Dhading to visit relatives in Nuwakot once took five minutes. It now takes four to five hours on foot via Galchhi. In Devighat, residents are clearing flood-damaged homes while remaining unable to cross the river. Durga Pudasaini said she had heard that her brother was swept away but could not reach him to check.

“

My brother is unreachable. I haven’t been able to go there.