Traffic has resumed along Dhangadhi-Mahendranagar section of the Mahendra highway from Sunday afternoon after security personnel cleared the road.

According to reports, a Royal Nepalese Army personnel was injured critically due to an explosion while trying to remove road blocks placed by the Maoist rebels last week to enforce their week-long ‘Nepal bandh’—the nationwide shutdown strike.

Though the CPN (Maoist) called off its strike on Wednesday (after four days), traffic along major highways remained disrupted due to road blocks placed by them. The rebels had indiscriminately felled down trees and placed explosives to block major highways in the country. Over one and half dozen security personnel were reportedly killed during clashes with the rebels in the south-western district of Nawalparasi last week while they were trying to clear the highway.

Butwal-Palpa and parts of other highways still remain blocked due to the roadblocks, according to reports.

In a separate incident, three civilians have been injured critically when a bomb left behind by suspected Maoists exploded this afternoon at Dhangadhi municipality ward no. 7, according to reports.

All of them are undergoing treatment at the Seti zonal hospital at Dhangadhi. The rebels had planted bombs at various places as part of their bid to disrupt municipal polls that was held on last Wednesday.