It will take at least three months to bring Melamchi water back to Kathmandu Valley

Kathmandu, July 9 – It is seen that it will take at least three months to bring Melamchi water back to Kathmandu Valley. The Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee, in coordination with the local level and the concerned bodies of the association, is going to carry out the maintenance with the aim of bringing back the water by the end of September.

The Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee has stated that roads, bridges and other structures to reach the project site have been damaged and some structures at the construction site have also been damaged.

Rajendra Prasad Pant, information officer of the committee, said that the aim is to bring water even from the temporary dam if the road can be opened and the bailey bridge can be reached.

According to him, if the access road and bridge can be constructed during the rainy season, the water will be able to flow in the next three months.

He said he was still unsure how long the rains would last or how much damage would be done to the structure, adding that he was not sure how long it would take to bring water back. He said, “We are holding discussions with the representatives of the concerned bodies for that.”

The committee has stated that the tunnel can be cleared in September if the headworks can be reached by August. If the improvement work takes a long time, it is seen that the period of coming to Sundarijal can be extended. According to him, the roads that were opened immediately after the rains are likely to be blocked again.

Recently, Chinese construction company Sino Hydro has been moving ahead with the rest of the project. Of the tunnels, headworks and water treatment plants under the project, only headworks are yet to be completed.

Information Officer Pant said that the company will also carry out maintenance work as the contract for the construction of the headworks has not been finalized. In other structures, it remains to be seen whether the same company will do it or not.

The committee has allocated immediate and long-term work for the maintenance of the project. The immediate work to be done is the construction and maintenance of the entrance. Information Officer Pant said that the construction of bridges and roads at the entrance should be done first.

Ambathan can be reached by constructing an entrance. He said that the Ambathan Audit and Diversion Tunnel will be opened after reaching the venue.

The committee has stated that if the water in the Melamchi River is clear by the time the Ambathan Audit and Diversion Tunnel is opened, water can be brought by re-diversion. Now that the surface has reached above the mouth of the diversion tunnel by piling stones and sand, it should also be removed, said Information Officer Pant. He said, “We have estimated that it will cost Rs one billion to repair the project site.”

It is seen that the construction of roads, bridges and dead works should be done immediately to drain the water of Melamchi. He said that conservation work should be done to prevent damage to the project next year after the rains.

As roads and bridges have to be repaired along with the project maintenance, three bodies including the road department, army and committee under the federal government have been involved in it.

Similarly, the road can be opened with the help of the local level to reach the project site for the time being. He said that the dozers and wire mesh they have can be used in coordination with Helambu Municipality and Melamchi Municipality. He said, “Once the road is temporarily opened and the construction site is reached, it is seen that the permanent work can be started from the back.”

As the road was completely blocked and the construction site could not be reached, the committee is now studying the damage caused by the drone. In a few days, representatives of the concerned bodies including the Ministry of Water Supply, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, National Parks are planned to go as far as possible. The team will reach there and discuss with the locals and study the damage there.

Even the representatives of the committee’s office at Melamchi, Pulbazar have not been able to reach Ambathan yet. A few days ago, a team including technicians reached Kiul on foot and returned.

It is seen that Rs. 2 billion has to be spent not only on the project but also on conservation work so that the project will not be damaged in the coming fiscal year. He said that it will include the maintenance of roads and bridges as well as the precautionary measures to be taken at the project site.

Currently, the Bailey Bridge will be constructed immediately and the traffic will be operated, while in the long run, the concrete bridge will be constructed. It is necessary to increase the height of the existing bridge and build a bigger bridge. Now that the landslide has been removed and the road is being operated, in the long run, blacktop roads have to be constructed from the same place.

He said that safety programs can be done to prevent such accidents in the future by studying the damage to the headwork. He said, “There will be study and research from experts on what can be done on the headwork.”

The construction of the tunnel was completed and water was brought to the Kathmandu Valley only a few months ago. The project had started inspecting the tunnel on July 20. On the same day, other structures except the tunnel of the project have been damaged due to the landslide coming from above the headwork.