Kathmandu, Sept. 23 -- Tarai/Madhesh Expressway been completed within its original schedule, Kathmandu would have had a direct alternative route to the plains when floods and landslides disrupted its main road links.

Instead, the 70.977-kilometre National Pride Project is approaching a decade under construction by the Nepali Army, with physical progress only around half complete. The delay has left the capital dependent on the Prithvi Highway, Tribhuvan Highway and Kanti Lokpath, all of which become vulnerable to landslides and congestion during disasters.

Supplies in Kathmandu have yet to ease since the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods severed the Prithvi Highway link at Krishnabhir for more than two weeks. When the main artery to Kathmandu...