Water distribution to Kathmandu through the tunnel has been completely stopped since Thursday night after a temporary dam collapsed due to flooding at the source of the Melamchi River.
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The Melamchi water supply to the Kathmandu Valley has been stopped at its source after the flood destroyed the temporary dam.
According to the information provided by the technicians at the Melamchi site, the water was initially very murky at 9 pm on Thursday. Then, the flood damaged the structure of the temporary dam built at the source. The technician said that they had stopped sending water to the tunnel since Thursday night.
The area around the source in Helambu, Sindhupalchowk, has been flooded due to the rains. 'The flow of water has not decreased,' the employee said, 'There is no possibility of sending water immediately.'
Senior Division Engineer and Spokesperson of the Melamchi Project, Madhu Timilsana, said that there has been no formal decision to stop the water supply. He said that discussions are underway as the water is murky and there is a possibility of flooding.
The flood of Asad 2078 completely destroyed the source of the Melamchi project, so the water has been stopped every year during the rainy season. At that time, a sudden flood from the Himalayan region Bhemathang had damaged from Helambu to Melamchi and Dolalghat in Kavre. After the flood, a decision was made to shift the Melamchi source, but the Melamchi project has stated that the final report has not been prepared.
Since the source has not been built, water is being brought to Kathmandu through the tunnel only during the dry season. Project officials said that since the temporary dam was damaged this time, it may take a long time to bring water.
Water is being brought to Kathmandu from Melamchi through a 26-km tunnel. Although it took almost two and a half decades to complete the water supply to Kathmandu from Chaitra 2077, the flood washed away the source three months later.
Currently, 170 million liters of water is being distributed to the Kathmandu Valley daily from Melamchi. After the Melamchi water supply is stopped, it will have an impact on the water supply in the valley. Similarly, when the mouth of the Melamchi River flooded, arrangements were made to send water from a nearby small river called Riberma. A structure was built to send water from that river to Kathmandu during the rainy season. But since Thursday night, the water in the Riberma River has also become murky. Now, the water from that river has also been stopped from being sent to the tunnel.
