Melamchi drinking water to arrive mid-April

CHAUTARA: Water from the Melamchi Drinking Water Project is to reach the capital city in mid-April this year.

Though the project has seen 99 per cent completion, some technical testing works remain to bring the project to fruition, said information officer at Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee, Rajendra Pant.

The tunnel, which takes water from Melamchi to Sundarijal before its distribution, will be ready only after a report is given by a team of four German technicians currently carrying out final evaluation of the project. It will take another two months of study and observation after the tunnels come into operation.

Two doors of the tunnel had witnessed a problem when a test was carried out last August. The malfunctioning doors have been repaired. Likewise, head works in the source at Ambathan in Helambu have been 90 per cent complete. Remaining work includes a dam and a bridge, Pant said.

The 27-kilometre tunnel, the most important and complex part of the project, was completed three years ago.

The project worth Rs 33 billion, supported by Asian Development Bank, is expected to bring to the federal capital 170 million litres of water every day.

The project continuously faced hurdles one after another, leading to perennial delay. Meanwhile, second phase of the project has also begun. The second phase will see another 170 million litres of water being supplied to Kathmandu. Furthermore, the third phase will also draw out 170 million litres of water every day. In total, the capital will receive 540 million liters of water every day from Melamchi.

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