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The much-awaited Melamchi Water Supply Project is finally near completion. A ‘breakthrough’ on April 10 in the 7.5-km Sindhu-Gyalthum section of the 26-km tunnel has raised the odds that Melamchi River’s water will reach the Kathmandu Valley before the Dashain festival in October.

Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Bina Magar said that with the latest breakthrough, the tunnel-digging work of the project has been completed. “We intend to finish the remaining tasks in the next four months, so valley residents will get to consume the water from Melamchi latest by Dashain,” said Magar. After taking over the ministry on Feb­ruary 18, Magar had observed the project site and instructed the project chief to carry out the breakthrough in 25 days. It was completed four days before the deadline.

Of the total project cost of Rs 76.7 billion, Rs 24.2 billion has already been spent, with 80 percent being borne by the Asian Development Bank and the remaining by the Nepal government.

The main objectives of the project, according to the ADB, are to alleviate the chronic water shortage in Kathmandu Valley on a sustainable, long-term basis, and to improve the health and well-being of its inhabitants. It is expected to bring 170 million liters of water to the capital every day. The much-delayed proj­ect also seeks to develop a comprehensive institutional framework for urban water management in the valley.

Earlier breakthroughs in the tunnel work included the 9.4-km Sundarijal-Sindhu sec­tion in 2016 and the 8.2-km Gyalthum-Ambathan section in late 2017.

“Melamchi’s water will be supplied to Kathmandu’s households in September if things go smoothly. But even if there are technical difficulties, that will happen by October,” says Ramchandra Devkota, executive director of the Melam­chi Water Supply Board.

“We are working on a Detailed Project Report to bring an additional 170 million liters of water each from Yangri and Larke rivers. Both will require 11-km long tunnels,” said Devkota. Tiresh Prasad Khatri, director of the Project Imple­mentation Directorate, KUKL, informed that the state water utility will need 15 days to supply water to households after it reaches Sundarijal.

By YUVARAJ PURI | SINDHUPALCHOK

With inputs from Gopikrishna Dhungana in Kathmandu

Kathmandu: The Pashupati Area Development Trust has announced the Pashupati area would be free of beggars. Speak­ing at a program on April 3, Min­ister for Culture and Tourism and Chair of the PADT Govern­ing Council Rabindra Adhikari suggested the PADT should help rehabilitate those for whom beg­ging is a profession and instead teach them livelihood skills.

According to a study, there are 182 beggars inside the Pashupati main temple premises. In col­laboration with the Manav Sewa Ashram 80 beggars have already been rehabilitated in Gongobu and Budhanilakantha Ashram, according to the PADT. RSS

Kathmandu: Construction of Kathmandu View Tower at the Old Bus Park in Kathmandu is moving ahead at a snail’s pace, according to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Work on building the foundation, in what is the first phase, is still going on, said KMC’s Public-Private Partnership Unit Chief Mahesh Kafle. The initial plan was to build a 29-storey building, but the project was reduced to 12 floors following the April 2015 earthquake. RSS

Surkhet: “A Buddha Airlines air­craft successfully conducted a Sur­khet-Kathmandu test flight on April 4,” said Binod Kumar Panta, Chief of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Surkhet. Surkhet is the capital of Karnali province. A 47-seat aircraft will start regular flights from April 14. This is in line with the demand of the locals of Karnali province that an air-link be established with Kathmandu. RSS