Heavy rains that flooded Gelephu until late afternoon yesterday did not cause damage to life and property, Gelephu thromde officials said.

The rainwater that flooded the border gate area soon dried up and there was no requirement for evacuation, according to officials.

To avoid more flooding in the low laying areas, thromde officials were deployed full time near the border gate’s storm water drainage to clear debris that kept clogging the drains.

About six kilometers away, the Dhaula River swelled stranding many travellers for over five hours yesterday morning.

Further up around eight kilometer away at the aie-slip, a major landslide blocked traffic flow until late afternoon.

Stranded vehicles were allowed to pass by 3pm, Department of Road’s engineer Kishor Chhetri said.

The situation was worse at Box cutting. Muck kept eroding making it difficult for the DoR to clear the road while it was still raining.

“This is the heaviest roadblock so far this year. We’re fulltime here during the day with machinery to clear the road as soon as the rain stops,” he said. “People should avoid traveling after dark.”

Several minor roadblocks were reported along the Gelephu-Zhemgang highway.

Nirmala Pokhrel | Tsirang