Manakamana cable car service closed after access road caves in

A road inside the Manakamana Cable Car premises in Cheres, Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality-4 in Chitwan, has caved in. Continuous rain caused the Trishuli River to change course and erode the bank, causing the road from the cable car gate to the interior to subside.

The river's flow has also been repeatedly hitting the suspension bridge connecting Cheres to Silingtar in Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality-3 of Gorkha. Ichchhakamana-4 ward chair Rudra Upreti said the main Prithvi Highway road has also cracked.

According to him, the cable car service is closed after the road caved in, and risk in the surrounding area has increased. Manakamana Cable Car, however, said the cable car itself remains fully safe.

According to the cable car's notice, a landslide below the second bend of the access road means vehicles cannot reach the old parking area. Passengers will need to use a footpath from there. For passengers arriving from the east, an alternative parking area has been set up on the left side of the highway, about 70 meters before the Mugling side, the cable car said.

Chitwan Koi Group's Executive Director Rajesh Babu Shrestha said there is no obstacle to operating the cable car. According to him, service will resume as soon as the highway reopens and passengers arrive. The cable car said road repairs will be expedited once weather conditions improve.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, heavy rain is likely at one or two locations in Gandaki Province and the Tarai region of Bagmati Province today.