A landslide buried the diversion tunnel of the under-construction Arun-3 Hydropower Project in Makalu Rural Municipality 3 and 5 of Sankhuwasabha district. DSP Birendra Godar, Chief at the District Police Office, Sankhuwasabha, said that the Arun River was blocked after the landslide buried the diversion tunnel this morning. He said that only 25 percent water came out of the tunnel.

The Arun River was diverted through a 229-meter-long diversion tunnel.

The river was flowing through a diversion tunnel by constructing a temporary dam. DSP Godar said that the river was blocked after the landslide occurred at the place from where the tunnel’s water is released. The water has accumulated in the 18-meter-high dam after the closure of the tunnel. The project said that more than a two-kilometer lake has been formed due to the dam. It will be dangerous if the water accumulates for a long time. The workers of the project have been shifted to a safer place. The project said that attempts are being made to release the water from the tunnel itself.