The damaged road sections of Araniko Highway from Kathmandu to Tatopani Bazaar bordering China have been repaired and maintained, facilitating timely trade for Nepal’s festival season in October.

“A few days ago, we completed the repair and maintenance work at the damage site near Liping stream too. With this repair, vehicles now can move up to the border point from Kathmandu,” Bijaya Kumar Mahato, an engineer at the local road office informed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down trade through the Tatopani-Zhangmu border point, a situation further exacerbated by the damage to the road caused by landslides and floods sparked by monsoon rains in the last three months, according to the Department of Road.

While makeshift repair has been done in different locations, the section of the road washed out near Liping stream, which is very close to the border point, has remained unattended for the past three months.