Discussions have begun at the Ministry of Drinking Water to open the source of the Melamchi River, which was blocked by locals in Helambu, Sindhupalchowk.

The water supply in the capital has been affected after residents of Melamchi returned water brought to Kathmandu to the river. Discussions have begun among stakeholders at the Ministry of Water Supply on Sunday to resolve the problem.

According to Rajkumar Bhandari, leader of the Melamchi Water Supply Flood Victims Struggle Committee, preliminary talks are underway with the concerned parties including Secretary of the Ministry of Water Supply Pramila Devi Bajracharya.

'We had returned the water sent to the tunnel to the river because the agreement made in the presence of the then Minister of Water Supply Pradeep Yadav in Asoj 2081 was not implemented, and discussions are currently underway on the same issue,' he said.

The daily stoppage of about 200 million liters of water sent through the tunnel has had a major impact on the distribution system of the Kathmandu Valley.

According to Pasang Sherpa, chairman of the Struggle Committee, the flow of water from both Melamchi and the subsidiary Ribarma River has been stopped.

The Sangharsh Samiti had earlier locked the office of the executive director at the main office of the Melamchi Water Supply Project in Kathmandu. Stating that the demand was not met, they stopped the water from flowing into Kathmandu on the seventh day by diverting the water back to the river.

Along with this, Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Limited (KUKL) has stated that water can now be distributed in the valley only from internal sources. KUKL says that the water supply from the Sundarijal Processing Center to the wholesale distribution center has been completely stopped.