Melamchi water arrives Sundarijal for third time

Water from the Melamchi rivulet at Helambu rural municipality-1 in Sindhupalchowk district has reached the capital a week ago through a tunnel at Ambathan.

The water that reached the end point of the tunnel at Gokarneshwor Municipality-1 has been diverted to Bagmati. Melamchi Drinking Water Project engineer Ram Chandra Poudel said that the initial water was diverted to Bagmati to clean the garbage collected in the tunnel which was closed in the last week of May. The gate of the tunnel has been closed since Tuesday after the initial water was sent to Bagmati. He said that the water will be closed for filling the tunnel for a few days.

Last week, the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee sent water to the tunnel from a source at Ambathan in Helambu rural municipality of Sindhupalchowk. Since the tunnel has been closed since June, little water has been sent on a trial basis. This water reached Sundarijal, the last point of the tunnel in Kathmandu, within a week.

According to project spokesperson Rajendra Panta, 175 million liters of water will be pumped into the tunnel every day after the next week.

The tunnel has been cleared initially by the water poured in since Sunday evening. The water collected after cleaning the tunnel will be distributed to the customers of the capital next week. The Project Implementation Directorate of Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited is constructing a distribution network for the distribution of water. Through this network, the people of the capital will get Melamchi water again from next week.

The Melamchi water has been suspended since Last June due to flooding and damage to the tunnel. Melamchi water reached the capital temporarily in March 2018. Melamchi water reached the capital for the second time in April 2018 after the Melamchi rivulet flooded the Melamchi river damaging the structures and entry points. Melamchi water comes to the capital only during winter as the construction of headworks at the source of Melamchi has not been completed. 

Minister for Drinking Water Umakantchaudhary has already made a public announcement that the distribution would be made from November 15. A team led by Nepali Congress leader and newly elected lawmaker from Kathmandu constituency-1, Prakash Man Singh, also visited the Melamchi source last week to conduct an on-site study.