It is expected that once this much-awaited project is completed, the suffering of irregular electricity that the people of Karnali have been facing will be eliminated.
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The work on expanding the Kohalpur-Surkhet 132 kV electricity transmission line has reached the final stage.
Project officials claim that the work has been delayed due to repeated obstacles from locals and difficult terrain. The plan to charge electricity at the Subbakuna substation by Mangsir could not be completed.
There had been a series of disputes and resolutions between the locals and the project in the past. Even though the dispute was resolved last time, the locals had been obstructing the construction of the tower again. The project has stated that this is the reason for the delay.
The project chief, Ravi Kumar Chaudhary, informed that the locals had obstructed the construction of the tower in Baniyambhar even after the dispute was resolved last Ashar. He said that the construction of the tower in Baniyambhar, Baijanath Rural Municipality of Banke, where there has been a long-standing dispute, has been completed and the work of laying the wires is ongoing. He said that the work of laying the wires will be completed within a week.
He said that the work was delayed due to the difficult geography, as well as the difficulty in transporting construction materials and tower equipment. Although it takes a week to build a tower, it is taking an extra month due to the difficult geography, he said. He said, ‘Work is being done in the field as per the target. The delay is due to the difficult geography. The work is in the final stage. It will be completed within a month.’ There is still work to be done to stretch three kilometers of wire between Harre and Babai and to construct an angle tower near the substation in Subbakuna.
The project claims to have achieved 99 percent physical progress. Out of the total 162 towers of the project, 161 have been completed.
The work could not be completed on time due to repeated disputes in the project, which was supposed to be completed by Asad 23, 2078. From the beginning, there were obstacles in Banke and Bardiya National Parks, where the project will be expanded, due to land tenure rights, tree cutting, and residents of Baniyambhar in Baijanath Rural Municipality-1 and Ward 4 of Banke.
Last Baisakh, after locals obstructed the line extension in the national forest of Baniyambhar, the administration had to deploy security personnel to cut down trees. Later, after the government paid nearly 60 million more compensation to the locals, they backed down.
The locals even went to court demanding that the project be shifted. The project got a way out after the court ordered the project to proceed after looking at the practical aspects. The project is being carried out at a cost of 700 million. The work was carried out on Asad 22, 2076 with the Nepal Electricity Authority and the Indian company RS Infra Project.
It is expected that once this much-awaited project is completed, the people of Karnali will be able to get rid of the problem of irregular electricity supply. Electricity is currently being supplied throughout Karnali through the transmission line built 37 years ago.
