Although the floods and landslides that occurred in Ashar 2078 caused great damage to property and people in the source areas of Helambu and Melamchi, local residents say that the water supply had to be shut off because the government ignored the reconstruction of the Helambu area and the problems of the victims.
What you should know
Drinking water distribution in the Kathmandu Valley is set to be affected from today after locals in the source area of Helambu in Sindhupalchowk diverted Melamchi water brought to Kathmandu back into the river and stopped it. The Melamchi Water Supply Flood Victims' Struggle Committee had diverted the water sent through the tunnel into the river on Thursday, citing non-implementation of the agreement reached in Asoj 2081 in the presence of the then Water Supply Minister Pradeep Yadav.
The water distribution system of the valley is going to be greatly affected after the source is blocked. About 200 million liters of water is sent from Melamchi through the tunnel daily.
There is a shortage of water, we cannot distribute it like now.-Prakash Rai, Spokesperson-KUKL
According to Pasang Sherpa, Chairman of the Sangharsh Samiti, the water of the main Melamchi river and the subsidiary Ribarma river has been blocked. The water brought to Kathmandu from the source has been returned to the river after the 5 days of locking the office of the executive director at the main office of Melamchi in Kathmandu in the name of the Stakeholders' Committee.
Kathmandu Valley Drinking Water Limited (KUKL), which has been given the responsibility of water distribution, has stated that from today, water can be distributed only from internal sources in Kathmandu. KUKL has informed that the water sent from the Sundarijal Processing Center to the wholesale distribution centers in Kathmandu will be completely stopped.
KUKL spokesperson Prakash Rai said that after the source is closed, it will no longer be possible to distribute water from the processing center in Sundarijal. He said, ‘There will be a shortage of water, we cannot distribute it like we do now.’ According to KUKL, due to a daily shortage of about 200 million liters of water, water cannot be distributed regularly as before.
Although the floods and landslides that occurred in Ashar 2078 caused great damage to property and people in the source areas of Helambu and Melamchi, local political leader Rajkumar Bhandari informed that the water had to be stopped because the Melamchi Project ignored local problems.
Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee Executive Director Jagarnath Das informed that locals have diverted water to the river with the help of excavators. He said that the pipe of the structure prepared to send rainwater other than Melamchi to the tunnel was broken and the employees and workers assigned for maintenance were forcibly removed and the water was sent to the river. The Sangharsh Committee used the excavator from Melamchi, and the driver was brought from outside. Due to the damage caused by the 2078 BS flood, only a temporary structure remains at the mouth of the water-sending tunnel. Executive Director Das said that the Melamchi Water Supply and the Ministry alone cannot fulfill the demands of the Sangharsh Committee.
An agreement was signed with the Sangharsh Committee on 21 Asoj 2081 BS in Helambu Rural Municipality in the presence of the then Minister for Water Supply Yadav. At that time, Minister Yadav himself had given a written agreement regarding the rehabilitation of those affected by the 2078 BS flood in Helambu, the construction of roads, bridges and physical infrastructure, and the use of a certain percentage of the water fee for the development of Helambu.
Only after that agreement was it allowed to bring water to Kathmandu. In the agreement, there was an agreement between Minister Yadav, Helambu Rural Municipality Chairman Nimagyaljen Sherpa, the Sangharsh Committee, and local political party workers to fulfill the demands. During the agreement, Minister Yadav had assured the locals that he would sincerely implement the agreement.
As per the demands of the locals, an agreement was reached regarding the rehabilitation of those affected by the 2078 BS flood in Helambu, the construction of roads, bridges and physical infrastructure, and the use of a certain percentage of the water tariff for the development of Helambu.
Even though three and a half years have passed since the floods and landslides, the locals are saddened that the government and the Melamchi Project have ignored local problems. ‘Both the state and federal governments have been ignoring the loss of property and lives in Helambu,’ said Rajkumar Bhandari, a leader of a local political party and witness to the agreement. ‘The government’s accountability towards the citizens affected by the floods and landslides has not been seen at all.’ Bhandari said that the reconstruction of the damaged structures and the rehabilitation of the victims, and the reconstruction of the damaged road networks have not been carried out.
The Melamchi main office has been locked down for 6 days.
It has been 6 days since the four local concern committees of Sindhu and Kavre locked the office of the executive director of the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee.
The executive director has not been able to enter his office since the 16th. The administrative work of the Melamchi project has come to a standstill after the office in Panipokhari, Lazimpat was locked. Preparations are underway to hold talks with the concern committee that locked the office at the Ministry of Drinking Water in Singha Durbar this afternoon. For that, the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee has written to the concern committees.
