KATHMANDU, Oct 11: Flooding in the Budhigandaki River has swept away two road bridges in Arughat and Soti in Gorkha’s Arughat Rural Municipality, threatening the survival of the roughly 400-year-old Arughat Bazaar.
Rural municipality chair Raju Gurung said the flood had also damaged other structures. Residents have abandoned their homes and moved to safety as riverside houses face the risk of inundation.
Budhigandaki flood: Soti, Machhikhola bridges swept away; four...
“Arughat has now been evacuated. Nobody in the market area remains at home. Everyone has moved to safety,” Gurung said. “The very existence of Arughat Bazaar is under serious threat.”
He said floodwaters had risen above the level of Arughat’s road bridge and affected settlements in the market area. Residents had been alerted early in the morning and urged to remain in safe locations.
After receiving information at around 4:45 a.m., authorities used police and the media to warn residents and advise them to move to safety, he said.
Gurung also said he had received reports that five people staying in livestock sheds in the municipality’s Sundari area were out of contact. However, he stressed that the reports had yet to be officially confirmed.
