Monsoon-related landslides, flooding and erosion along the Kali Gandaki river have caused physical damage estimated at around Rs 1 billion to the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road, the strategically important highway that links China and India. The Beni-Jomsom-Korala Road Project said the highway was washed away, destroyed or damaged at dozens of points during this year's monsoon, and that reconstructing the damaged sections will require an additional budget of Rs 3 billion to Rs 4 billion. According to preliminary estimates, the heaviest damage occurred along the road's 33-kilometre section in Myagdi district, part of a 202-kilometre alignment that runs from Maldhunga in Parbat to the Korala border point in Mustang.
Floods and landslides batter the highway
Project chief Tejaswi Sharma said the Kali Gandaki flood washed away or destroyed the road at 10 locations, while landslides damaged it at 50 locations, as reported by RatoPati. Taken together, the flooding, landslides and river erosion have struck the highway at 60 separate points, leaving one of western Nepal's most important north-south routes severely degraded at the end of the monsoon season.
The project's preliminary estimates can be summarised as follows:
- 10 locations where the Kali Gandaki flood washed away or destroyed the road
- 50 locations where landslides damaged the roadway
- About Rs 1 billion in estimated physical damage
- Rs 3 billion to Rs 4 billion in additional budget required for reconstruction
The destruction stemmed from three monsoon-related forces acting in combination: landslides that dumped debris across the roadway, floods that scoured the roadbed, and erosion along the Kali Gandaki river, which the highway follows through much of the damaged stretch. The interaction of these hazards explains why the damage is spread so widely along the alignment rather than concentrated at a single point.
Preliminary figures that could still change
Both the Rs 1 billion damage estimate and the Rs 3 billion to Rs 4 billion reconstruction figure are preliminary. The project has described its calculation as an initial assessment of physical damage, so the final cost of restoring the highway may be adjusted as the assessment is refined.
Myagdi section bears the brunt
The Beni-Jomsom-Korala road stretches 202 kilometres, beginning at Maldhunga in Parbat district, passing through Beni in Myagdi district and terminating at the Korala border point in Mustang. Within that alignment, the 33-kilometre section lying in Myagdi suffered the heaviest damage, according to the project's preliminary assessment.
The Myagdi section sits in the middle portion of the route, between the Parbat stretch near Maldhunga and the Mustang section that continues north toward Korala. Its position along the river valley placed it directly in the path of the Kali Gandaki floodwaters, and it accounted for the largest share of the destruction recorded in the initial survey.
Damage of this intensity along a single 33-kilometre stretch carries practical consequences for movement along the corridor, since traffic between Beni and points north toward Mustang depends on the integrity of this section of the road.
Rebuilding to cost several times the damage estimate
The Beni-Jomsom-Korala Road Project said reconstruction of the damaged road will require an additional budget of Rs 3 billion to Rs 4 billion, according to reports carried by Nepal Press and Nagarik News. That figure is three to four times the preliminary damage estimate of Rs 1 billion, reflecting the scale of engineering work needed to rebuild a highway that was cut at 60 separate points by flood, landslide and erosion.
Securing that additional funding is now the project's central task as it moves from damage assessment toward reconstruction planning. The project has made clear that restoring the damaged sections of the road will depend on mobilising this extra budget.
A strategic corridor between China and India
The Beni-Jomsom-Korala road carries weight beyond the districts it serves because it links China and India. Running from the Korala border point in Mustang down through Myagdi and Parbat, the highway forms part of a north-south corridor connecting the two neighbours, which is why its condition attracts attention well beyond local transport circles.
Damage on this scale along such a corridor therefore has implications that go beyond disrupted local travel. The Rs 1 billion in losses recorded along the route, and the billions more required to repair it, underline how exposed the highway remains to monsoon hazards along the Kali Gandaki.
For now, the preliminary damage assessment of Rs 1 billion and the Rs 3 billion to Rs 4 billion reconstruction requirement set the baseline for planning the road's recovery. For the communities and trade that depend on the Beni-Jomsom-Korala road, the scale of this year's monsoon impact is stark: 60 damaged points, a devastated Myagdi section and a reconstruction bill expected to run into billions of rupees.
