INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 9The supply of drinking water from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchowk to Kathmandu valley
restarted today after six months of complete closure of the water tunnel.
Water from Melamchi being supplied in Kathmandu
PM urged to resolve drinking water woes in capital
Minister of Water Supply Umakant Chaudhary inaugurated
water redistribution from Mahankalchaur tank
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Chaudhary pledged to find a sustainable solution to the valley's drinking water woes.
Speaking at the event, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, deputy executive officer of Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Ltd, said the Melamchi project
would distribute an additional 170 million litres water per day to Kathmandu valley in a few days and several areas will receive water every
other day."The demand for drinking water in Kathmandu valley is 430 million litres per day, but the current supply is only around 120
The additional 170 million litres from the Melamchi project will still be insufficient to meet the valley's demand," Karki said.The Melamchi
project had first started distributing water from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu on March 28 last year
However, the supply was disrupted following major floods and landslides in Sindhupalchowk on June 15 the same year
The water supply to the valley was resumed on April 24, but it had to be halted once again on May 31.Floods and landslides had completely
damaged the headworks, blocking it with pebbles, sand, and mud
The government had tried to intensify the clearing of debris from the headworks by mobilising the Nepali Army
However, the process was delayed because the link road, along with couple of bridges that joined the headworks, had also been completely
destroyed.According to Information Officer of Melamchi Water Supply Project Rajendra Prasad Panta, water supply from Melamchi will be halted
during the monsoon season for at least two years till the construction of permanent headworks of the project is completed."As the risk of
landslides and floods remains high at Melamchi, the project should be reconstructed considering this risk factor
The Asian Development Bank is preparing a report on it
It will be published towards the end of the month,"Panta, who is also the senior division engineer of the project, told The Himalayan Times
"The report will help us come up with a permanent solution to ensure regular supply of water to Kathmandu valley from Melamchi."A version of
this article appears in the print on December 2, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com