Bharatpur Responds to Flood Deaths, Fatal EV Fire, and Surge in Air Travel

Bharatpur, the metropolitan hub of Chitwan district in Nepal's Gandaki Province, navigated several concurrent crises in mid-September 2026. Flood recovery operations brought the grim task of burying unidentified victims to the city, while a fatal electric vehicle fire at Basant Chowk raised safety concerns. The shutdown of key sections of the Prithvi Highway due to road subsidence meanwhile drove an extraordinary surge in air passenger traffic on the Bharatpur-Kathmandu route.

Electric Car Fire Kills One at Basant Chowk

One person died on the morning of September 11 after an electric car caught fire at Basant Chowk in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-9. The vehicle, registered as Ba.Pra. 01-030 Cha 5579, was traveling from east to west when it suddenly caught fire around 6 AM. A police team that received information about the blaze arrived at the scene promptly and, with the help of a fire engine, worked to bring the fire under control. Once the flames were extinguished, officers discovered that one person had been burned to death inside the vehicle. The identity of the deceased, including their name, surname, and home address, had not been established at the time the report was published. The electric car was completely destroyed by the fire and rendered unusable. Police stated that further investigation into the incident was underway. The case drew significant concern among residents of the city, where electric vehicles have seen growing adoption as an alternative to fuel-powered transport in recent years. Authorities had not yet disclosed any technical findings of their investigation, and no definitive cause for the fire had been publicly announced at the time of the report by Ratopati. [7]

Bharatpur Authorities Begin Burying Unidentified Flood Victims

Authorities in Bharatpur began burying unidentified bodies in early September 2026 in the aftermath of devastating floods that struck Nepal. France 24 reported from Bharatpur that the death toll from the flooding continued to climb, with recovery teams bringing in new bodies on a nearly daily basis. A significant number of victims could not be identified, and after several days had passed since the disaster, many of the recovered bodies had reached an advanced state of decomposition, making identification all the more difficult. Confronted with an influx of unidentifiable remains, local authorities in Bharatpur proceeded with burial operations for those whose identities could not be established. France 24 journalists documented the proceedings on the ground, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the city's emergency and civic response systems in the disaster's wake. The floods represent one of the most severe natural disaster events to have struck the region in recent times, placing extraordinary demands on local authorities, rescue workers, and the broader community. Recovery teams continued to operate in affected areas as residents grappled with the scale of human loss, and authorities worked to balance the humanitarian imperative of ongoing search operations with the need to manage recovered remains in a dignified and timely manner. [6]

🤝 Blocked Prithvi Highway Pushes Bharatpur Flights to Eleven Daily

Passenger demand on flights between Bharatpur and Kathmandu surged after sections of the Prithvi Highway, including the Krishnabhir stretch, were damaged and blocked due to road subsidence. With road travel no longer a reliable option, airlines operating the corridor significantly increased the frequency of their services. Buddha Air, which is currently the sole airline serving the Bharatpur-Kathmandu route, normally operates five flights each day. As highway conditions worsened, the airline expanded its schedule to as many as eleven flights per day, adjusting the number based on passenger demand. Bhakta Bahadur Basnet, head of Buddha Air's Bharatpur office, confirmed the scale of the increase in operations. The airline deploys ATR 72 aircraft on the route, capable of carrying 72 passengers, though the shorter runway at Bharatpur Airport limits capacity to around 65 to 70 passengers on flights departing from Kathmandu and approximately 50 passengers on return legs. An alternative overland route through Makwanpur remained available, but ongoing monsoon conditions persuaded many travelers to choose air travel instead. Bharatpur Airport also drew passengers from neighboring districts including Nawalparasi, Gorkha, Tanahun, Lamjung, and Makwanpur, whose residents traveled to Bharatpur to board flights to the capital, further driving up demand on the route during this period. [8]

Sources: [7] Ratopati · [6] France 24 · [8] myRepublica