It's obvious to anyone who's been in the country's eastern and central regions since the monsoon that floods and landslides have wreaked havoc on the roads. But the extent of the damage is shocking. Suresh Kumar Regmi, who is responsible for maintenance at the Department of Roads, said in an interview with Rajdhani daily that repairs will cost over Rs 450 million. Most of those roads remain in a poor state because the department does not have the funds to repair them. The department has been asking the government for about Rs 100 million annually to spend on maintenance every year, but has been getting only Rs 30 million. Floods and landslides damage the two main roads from Kathmandu to the plains every year. Two years ago, the government invited a private party to build a direct road linking Kathmandu and Hetauda via tunnels in the hills in the south. The plan has been caught up in red tape. Now the government is considering another alternative-building a road along the banks of the Bagmati and connecting the highway network near Pathlaiya, shortening the 300 km drive on the Prithivi Highway to just 90 km.