Home Minister Omprakash Aryal has directed to bring the closed upper Bhotekoshi hydropower project into operation immediately, asking for free shares in the name of Gen-G youth.

On Wednesday, a team led by Ganesh Karki, president of Independent Power Producers Association, Nepal (IPPAN), including representatives of the affected hydropower projects informed the home minister about the incident.

President Ganesh Karki said that stopping the hydropower scheme in the name of Gen-G youths is chaos and requested Home Minister Aryal to create an environment for the project to be implemented as soon as possible.

After hearing Ippan's words, Home Minister Aryalal telephoned the Chief District Officer of Sindhupalchok, Bandhu Prasad Bastola, and instructed him to put the Bhotekoshi hydropower project into operation immediately.

'Gen-G youths get to demand . If there are reasonable demands, they can be fulfilled through negotiation and discussion. It was not possible to stop the production of the project.' Home Minister Aryal said to Bastola, 'If you can't put the project into operation, then report what the home should support, but the power generation didn't stop.'

After the Gen-G movement on August 23 and 24, Gen-G has stopped the electricity production of the project from August 25, demanding 10 percent free shares to the youth in the 45 MW upper Bhotekoshi hydropower project operating in Sindhupalchowk.

During the rainy season when electricity is produced at full capacity, the project was producing electricity worth 98 lakh rupees daily. Chief Executive Officer of Bhotekoshi Power Company, the project promoter, Vikram Sattamba informed that the project has lost more than 27 million rupees due to the closure of the project for the last 28 days .

Gen-G youths sent a letter to the company threatening not to produce electricity from Bhotekoshi unless they give 10 percent free shares. Even though the project was closed for 28 days in the name of Gen-G, the local people have sent a letter demanding 10 percent free share in other hydropower projects of Sindhupalchok as well.

Senior Vice President of IPPAN Mohankumar Dangi said that since the hydropower project is a national priority project, the state should protect it under any circumstances. Dangi said that the private sector is producing 3,000 megawatts of electricity by investing more than 15 billion rupees and the private sector cannot work if the state cannot guarantee security.

Mohan Vikram Karki, the owner of Upper Balefi, said that no promoters can invest more in such an environment as it is a job to lower the morale of hydropower producers.

Zen-G youths have also threatened to stop the electricity production of the project from the 30th of October if they do not give 10 percent free share to the 22.2 megawatt upper chaku a hydropower project that has been put into operation.

10 percent free share has also been demanded in the 36 MW Upper Balefi A, 7.2 MW Yambaling Khola, 990 KW Solang Khola and Ghattekhola hydropower projects which are now operational in Sindhupalchowk.

Similarly, in other under-construction hydropower projects, 22.14 MW Balefi A, 1.5 MW Lower Selang, 46 MW Upper Balefi, 35 MW Nyasim Khola, 65 MW Dudhkhola, etc., a letter has been written in the name of Gen-G and local youth, asking for 10 percent free share .