With the onset of monsoon becoming, continuous rainfall has triggered floods and landslides that have blocked the Mechi Highway and alternative roads for over a month. Considering the situation the residents of Ilam have urged the government to declare the district a Disaster-Affected Area.
The prolonged road closures have caused shortages of daily essentials, medicines, and other supplies, while the local economy has also slowed significantly. Therefore, the residents are calling on the government to officially declare Ilam as a Disaster-Affected Area.
A landslide at the Rajduwali section of the Mechi Highway near Mai Khola has cut off the direct road connection from Jhapa to Ilam district headquarters, as well as to Panchthar and Taplejung, for more than a month. Since the Rajduwali section has remained blocked and alternative roads are risky, shortages of essential goods have begun affecting Ilam Bazaar, Biblyante, Puwakhola, and other northeastern and western parts of the district.
The district is facing shortages of fuel, cooking gas, and other essential supplies and the prices of food, vegetables, and other market goods have also increased sharply. Krishna Paudyal, President of the Ilam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that medicine shortages have now begun due to the road closures, while the district hospital also lacks specialist doctors. He said, “Because there are no specialist doctors and the roads are closed, pregnant women whose delivery dates are being forced to rent rooms near the hospitals in Jhapa. People are now reaching a point where they feel compelled to leave Ilam.” Paudyal added, “Neither is the Rajduwali road reopening, nor are the alternative roads being improved. The people of Ilam are going through an extremely difficult situation.”
Niroj Khadgi, District Secretary of the Nepali Congress in Ilam, said that neither the Simalgolai–Tilkeni road nor the Kechana–Kanchenjunga Road is currently suitable for ambulance services. He explained that transporting patients across the Rajduwali landslide area is extremely difficult. He also said that one of the patient sufferings from appendicitis could not be saved because they were not able to take him to the hospital on time. The road closures have affected not only Ilam but also Panchthar and Taplejung. Patients from these districts who need to be taken to hospitals in Jhapa have been facing serious difficulties because the shorter route via the Mechi Highway still remains blocked.
The disruption of road connectivity has also severely affected hotels, tourism, transportation businesses, and farmers throughout the region.
During an interaction program organized by Ilam Municipality on July 23,2026, engaging district level stakeholders to discuss the condition of the highway, participants urged the government to immediately declare Ilam a Disaster-Affected District.
Ilam’s crisis began after heavy rainfall and flooding on the night of October 4, 2025 washed away sections of the highway.
Kedar Thapa, Mayor of Ilam Municipality said that declaring the district disaster-affected is necessary to ensure citizens’ basic needs are met. He added that the local government will also draw the attention of both the provincial and federal governments towards the district’s situation.