Budhigandaki flood update: Army begins installing Bailey bridge at Arughat, around a dozen water supply projects damaged

The Nepal Army has begun preparations to install a Bailey bridge at Arughat after floods on the Budhigandaki River broke the motorable bridge connecting Arughat in Gorkha and Dhading.

Flash floods carrying debris on Sunday morning swept away one span of the three-span bridge, cutting off the road link between Arughat Bazaar and Dhadingbesi. The Army is using a dozer to clear the debris while materials for the Bailey bridge are being brought in from the Road Division Office in Hetauda.

Viroth Rijal, chief of the Rudradhwaj Battalion, said work would begin as soon as the materials arrive. The flood also swept away Arughat's drinking water pipeline, affecting local movement, trade and the transport of essential goods.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the floods have damaged about a dozen water supply projects. Water supply has been affected in various wards of Tripurasundari, Jwalamukhi, Gangajamuna and Siddhalek rural municipalities.

Locals in Shantibazar, Gorkha, said a second wave of floodwater swept away houses and sheds there, forcing residents to flee to higher ground. Affected families from Syauli Bazaar in Tripurasundari Rural Municipality-2 have taken shelter at Chulidevi Secondary School, where food and lodging arrangements have been made. Security personnel have been deployed in Arughat Bazaar.