Sunkoshi-Marin diversion opens doors of possibilities

By leaving the BP highway and passing through Sindhuli Bazar road, you can reach the Sunkoshi Marine Diversion, a national pride project of the Government of Nepal.

Mainly, under this project, the water of Sunkoshi and Tamakoshi is discharged from Kandhungri of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality to Marin River near Kusumtar, Ward No. 2 of Kamalamai Municipality. It is estimated that about 122,000 hectares of land in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Bara, Rautahat and other districts of Terai will be irrigated with 67,000 liters per second water from Koshi.

It is also a multi-purpose project. For this, the government has allocated 46 billion 19 million. It is estimated that 31.7 megawatts of electricity can be produced from the water flowing through this 13.3 km long tunnel. For this work, the Chinese contractor company China Overseas Company has taken charge of the work through global tender.

Possibilities

In Kuusumtar of Ward No. 2 of Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli District, the area can be developed as a natural swimming pool or a natural lake as the water of Sunkoshi is dropped with high flow. When it is developed as a natural lake, there are possibilities like rafting, water cycling etc. .

Another noteworthy thing is that the 1200 km long road passing through the Chure region of Nepal and the inner Madhes extending from east to west of Nepal Madan Bhandari Highway also passes through this diversion. It takes about 3 hours to reach Hetounda, the capital of Bagmati province, through this diversion. Madan Bhandari highway passes through this Sunkoshi Marin diversion and this tourist area also has special importance.

While this happens, the natural fish farming business also has great potential to flourish . It is also more likely to open the way to a little income through it. Hotel and resort business is another area that is seen as a possibility. The opening of hotels and resorts has three-fold benefits, employment opportunities, the possibility of tourism and the consumption of local products. Therefore, the service-oriented market has many opportunities in Nepal.

The second thing is Madan Bhandari Highway passing through this diversion, There is a possibility of running a hotel and resort. Near the Hetaunda section of Madan Bhandari Highway, at a place called Furkechaur, the Terai-Kathmandu fast track being built by the Nepali Army is found. From there (fast track) it takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach Kathmandu Valley. This (fast track) is currently under construction. If the importance of this diversion can be seen, internal and external tourism can be promoted.

This is a short distance for Indian tourists who come to Sindhuli through Bardibas to spend holidays and visit, because the distance from Sindhuli to the Indian border is only about 60 km . So the round trip distance of 60-70 km can be covered by motor in about one day.

Not only the districts of Madhes Pradesh, but also the production of large units of the North-western belt (Marin Fant) of Sindhuli district can be brought abundance from this water. There is an abundance of rice, wheat, corn and other crops in this area. Marin and Hariharpurgarhi villages of Sindhuli district are included in this area. Hariharpurgarhi fort, which has the historical importance of Nepal, is also located around this place. After reaching a little further than that, Makwanpurgarhi of Makwanpur district will be reached.

At the same time, a hiking route can be developed for Sindhuli Fort, which has historical importance in Nepal, through the wild uphill path above the same diversion. It seems that there is no need to allocate and spend that much money for this . Because hiking is the way to go uphill and steep.

can be considered as another possibility, the produced electricity . It is possible to produce about 31.7 megawatts of electricity from here. Out of about 31.7 megawatts produced, electricity consumed in Sindhuli district is about 11 to 12 megawatts . Hence, Sindhuli district can be known as a load-shedding-free district. The range of income sources can be widened by connecting the excess or surplus electricity to the national grid. This is a sustainable prospect . . It is estimated that an annual income of about 55 million rupees can be generated from electricity generation. In time, by issuing shares from this power project, the locals can be made more responsible.

If possible, if the water of Sunkoshi is siphoned directly to Sindhuli from the middle of this tunnel and connected to the Siddheshwar water supply and sanitation consumer committee's water project in Sindhuli after filter, the water problem of Sindhuli Madhi, the headquarters of Sindhuli, can be avoided forever.

challenges

is the main challenge of all national and national priority projects in Nepal, political instability. There is no basis that this project will not be affected by it. A symptom of this is the remaining payment of about seven billion rupees for last year. Secondly, due to this political transition period or political instability, the delayed completion of construction can also be seen as a challenge. Therefore, it seems necessary to streamline the transitional political fluidity by reducing it in a policy and operational manner.

The fact that the construction of the dam has just started even before the tunneling is about to be completed is also an example of lack of coordination or delay. Even though the dam work has started, there is a conflict between the locals and the contractor. Over time, such small matters can affect the overall project. There is a possibility of degradation of the ecosystem of aquatic animals if the unfertilized white soil inside the tunnel is dumped directly into the dead river. Due to this, there may be a decline in the production of fish in the immediate time, and the profession of the community that makes a living by catching fish may also be in crisis . Another problem is the silt flowing in the river. Even the muddy soil flowing in the river cannot be considered good from the point of view of health. It is also necessary to account for the adverse impact it has on the environment .

There may also be various problems and challenges in accounting for geographical, engineering and technical challenges and in terms of mobilizing the manpower working there. For the sake of this, coordinate with the local level here Required .

At present, the river Marin Khola, where the water of Sunkoshi is discharged, is small, in time, when the water of Sunkoshi is discharged into its Marin River, it is natural that the flow of this river will be higher, because of this, the course of the river may change and increase the possibility of damage. Moreover, this problem is more during the rainy season when the flow of water is high .

Sunkoshi Marin Diversion is a unique example of Nepal's engineering project. It is not only one but multifaceted . With its maximum use, it is estimated that there will be an increase in agricultural production worth about 26 billion in Nepal annually. For this, it is very important to increase easy access to irrigation.

Therefore, when such multi-faceted projects of national pride are completed on time, the foundation of the development of the entire country is set.

(author Sindhuli is an associate professor at the versatile campus)