Landslides near Tuinkhola along the Muglin–Narayangadh road section have blocked two-way traffic for the past several days, leaving thousands of travellers heading home for the Dashain festival stranded.
However, alternative routes are available and currently in use. One option is the road to Dedgaun via Khairenitar in Tanahun. The Gandaki Provincial Government has been constructing this road as a flagship project to link Mustang with the Tarai.
This route is suitable mainly for smaller and lighter vehicles. According to Prakash Chandra Bhattarai, who recently travelled this way, the route runs from Damauli–Khairenitar via Bhimad–Manpur to Dedgaun–Bulingtar–Dhodeni–Gaindakot. The distance from Muglin to Khairenitar is approximately 70 kilometres.
The Khairenitar–Bhimad section is a seven-kilometre blacktopped road, while the Bhimad–Manpur section is 35 kilometres of dirt track. From Manpur to Dedgaun, the road is paved and stretches 40 kilometres, and the Dedgaun–Narayangadh segment is a further 70 kilometres.
Vijay Rana, a local resident of Dharampani, noted that motorcyclists can travel from Damauli to the Muglin–Narayan road section by using the suspension bridge that connects Keshavtar, Sukhaura, Huslang, and Dharampani.