Vandalism by workers due to wage dispute, work of Upper Trishuli blocked

The construction work of the Nepal Water and Energy Development Company in Rasuwa's Uttargaya and Mailung located in Amachhoding Rural Municipality-1 was stopped after the workers vandalized the office and the company's vehicle on Saturday over the issue of wages and salaries.

The main promoter of the project, the Korean company Korea Energy, is building the project with 90 percent investment.

Dinesh Shrestha, a laborer involved in the construction, said that after the Power China Company, which has been paying a basic salary of 15,550 rupees, was paying the salary at the rate of 12,800 rupees.

After the conflict between the workers and Power China employees, the workers went on a rampage . In which 4 armed policemen have also been injured. During the clashes, some vehicles including the offices and residences of Nepal Water and Energy, the main Korean construction company Doosan and Power China were vandalized, police said. A Korean Energy official said the workers went on strike because of Power China's non-payment of holiday pay.

With the construction work stopped after the vandalism, the workers have now left the construction site and returned home . The 216 megawatt capacity project, which is being built with an investment of 640 million dollars, was started from 2022 and will be completed by December 2026. The Korean government is building the project with the investment of 9 international donor organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IFC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

_{(with the help of Kantipur Television's Nuwakot correspondent Rajkrishna Shrestha)}