KATHMANDU:- This Dashain is expected to be a rainy one, with the Meteorological Forecasting Division predicting light to moderate showers around the festival.

Although the monsoon is usually expected to withdraw in the first week of October, it has instead become more active, said Division under the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM).

Pratibha Manandhar, a senior meteorologist at the Division, said the monsoon trough is currently lying close to its normal position over Nepal, while moist winds from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are helping to keep the monsoon active.

“This system is likely to clear from Thursday but there is a chance of light to moderate rainfall until Dahsian. It is likely that we will have muddy Dahsian this year,” Manandhar said.

Usually, the monsoon exits Nepal from 2 October. There are only about 15 days left, though sometimes it lingers. It is still uncertain whether it will withdraw on time this year.

According to her, heavy rainfall is also possible at one or two places in the hilly areas of Koshi, Bagmati and Karnali provinces, and in the Tarai belt of Lumbini Province. The department has also warned that water levels in some rivers may rise.

Semari station in Kapilvastu recorded the highest rainfall, measuring 216.8 mm in the last 24 hours until 6 pm. Similarly, Deurali in Nawalparasi recorded 149 mm, Jalpa and Hattilung in Palpa recorded 161.6 mm and 179.8 mm respectively, and Parasi recorded 126.6 mm during the same period.

Meanwhile, our Palpa correspondent reported that continuous rain over the past three days has blocked three main roads in Gulmi, including the Kaligandaki Corridor.

The road was completely obstructed from Tuesday night after a landslide hit Rakse in Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-2, part of the Gulmi section of the corridor.

According to Ganga Bahadur Saru, spokesperson at the District Police Office, landslides in Salleri, Ruru Rural Municipality-3, along the Ridi-Tamghas section of the Madan Bhandari Highway, and increased water flow in Dharekhola, Satyawati Rural Municipality-6, along the Ridi-Wamitaksar road, have completely blocked these two roads since Wednesday morning.

With all three main roads in the district now blocked, vehicles on both sides are unable to pass. The district has experienced continuous rainfall. The District Administration Office has urged residents living in landslide-prone and riverbank areas to remain alert and stay in safe locations, as continuous rainfall may trigger further disasters.

Similarly, in Sunsari rising water levels in the Sapta Koshi River have led to the opening of 27 gates at the Koshi Barrage. Police spokesperson Yograj Khatri of the District Police Office said that the gates were opened after a water flow of 207,03 0 cubic metres per second was recorded at the barrage during a measurement taken at 11 AM on Wednesday.

On Tuesday at 10 PM, 24 gates were opened when the water flow was measured at 182,287 cubic metres per second.

Meanwhile, a teenager went missing after being swept away by the Bagmati River in Bagmati Rural Municipality, Makwanpur.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Shyamu Aryal of the District Police Office, Som Bahadur Ghalan, 18, of Khesrekhola Tole, Majhgaun, Ward No. 1, was carried away by the river around 3:30 PM on Wednesday.

Som Bahadur had gone fishing with his father, Gunjman Ghalan, 48, in the Bagmati River about five metres east of their home when the river swept him away. Local residents and police are conducting  a joint search operation to locate the missing teenager.