Thursday, July 18, 2013

Locals anxious as Upper Trishuli Three A comes to a halt

Dharma Bahadur Tamang of Dandagaun VDC- 7 in Rasuwa district had never thought his life would be so easy as he had to pass a risky mountain cliff along Trishuli River on foot to reach a nearby Betrawoti market for buying daily commodities.

But lately, his life has taken a turn for the better as vehicles ply in his village now. "Earlier, one had to travel to the market risking life. But now, life is largely free of risk as the road has been reached our village," elated Tamang says.


Today, locals in Mailung and Salletar of the district travel by bus. A few locals have even bought motorbikes. Huts in the villages have been replaced concrete buildings. The sea change in the lifestyle of the villages was possible after the government started construction of the Upper Trishuli Three A hydropower project.

However, despite the positive changes in the district, locals are lately anxious about their future as the construction work of the hydropower project may be completed by 2014. The hydropower is being constructed with a loan assistance from the Exim Bank of China.

Mangal Tamang, a local who had given his five ropani land for the project, seems sad these days as the Chinese company has stopped the construction work for the past three weeks. "The construction has been completely halted. I fear the hydro power will ever come into operation," said Mangal.

For the construction of Upper Trishuli hydropower project, around 25 ropani land has been acquired. The hydropower is the first project being constructed under the Engineering Procurement Contract (EPC) model. Under the model, all the construction work is done in a single package and in the fixed deadline.

Gajuwa Group, the construction company, has stopped the construction work demanding extension of the deadline as the construction cannot be completed by 2014 and also asked additional amount for construction.
The Exim Bank of China has pledged US $ 89 million loan assistance for the project.
src : republica

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