Kathmandu Valley is increasingly plagued by frequent road collapses, attributed to disorganised development projects. According to Narayan Datt Bhandari, Chief of the Division Road Office, the uncoordinated development efforts, particularly with underground utilities, have led to a rise in sinkholes across the valley’s roads.
On Wednesday, a significant sinkhole appeared on the inner road connecting Imadol via the New Bridge-Bhojepokhari route in Mahalaxmi Municipality-3, Lalitpur. The sinkhole, approximately three meters wide, disrupted traffic flow, especially during office hours, causing delays. Lalitpur Police spokesperson, SP Nareshraj Subedi, reported that the cause of the road collapse is still unknown.
This incident follows a series of road collapses across the valley. Last Thursday, a massive sinkhole developed on Kamaladi Road near Kathmandu Plaza. The Division Road Office attributes this collapse to a failed brick support under a culvert over the Tukucha River. The road, now blocked, is expected to take up to three months for complete repair, as a new culvert needs to be constructed.
Three days earlier, two large sinkholes appeared on Shivalaya Road in Kirtipur Municipality-10 after a sewer line burst, causing soil erosion. Local activist Birendra Shakya blamed the collapse on overloading the drainage system with excess water. Kirtipur has been experiencing a rise in similar incidents, with some roads being temporarily patched by local authorities.
On June 30, a motorcyclist and his bike fell into a massive sinkhole on the Sorhakhutte-Balaju road section. Rescuers had to use cranes and water pumps to retrieve the bike. The collapse was caused by a leak in the underground water pipes managed by the Kathmandu Valley Drinking Water Limited (KUKL).
In another incident on January 26, a bus traveling along the Baneshwor-Maitighar road section sank into a collapsed area. Investigation revealed gaps between underground sewage pipes as the cause. Earlier, in November 2021, another large sinkhole appeared on the road near Civil Hospital in Baneshwor, similarly caused by underground utility failures.
Disorganised development blamed
Chief Bhandari emphasised that the recurring road collapses are due to uncoordinated underground construction work. “Sinkholes on Kathmandu’s roads are no longer a rare occurrence—they happen almost weekly,” Bhandari said. “The main issue is the disorganised underground infrastructure. Water pipes, drainage systems, and electrical lines are all buried under the roads, causing the soil to erode over time when these systems leak.”
He explained that without a shift to a unified “utility model” for road construction, where all underground utilities are consolidated into large culverts, such problems will continue. “If all systems were integrated into a single culvert, we wouldn’t see these issues. But with each utility buried separately, soil erosion leads to sinkholes,” he added.
Underground infrastructure remains a mystery
Urban infrastructure expert Dr Suman Narsingh Rajbhandari echoed these concerns, highlighting the lack of accurate mapping of underground utilities. “No one knows exactly where the water pipes, sewers, and other systems are located under the roads in Kathmandu,” said Rajbhandari, who also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Urban Planning Commission for Kathmandu Metropolitan City, “The collapses we are seeing are largely due to leaks from these pipes, which cause the ground to erode, creating sinkholes.”
The growing frequency of road collapses in Kathmandu Valley underscores the need for better management and coordination of underground utilities and road development. Until such changes are implemented, the city’s roads remain at risk, with further disruptions to daily traffic expected.
