NEW DELHI, May 6: Karun Bansal, First Secretary (DP&R) of the Embassy of India, Kathmandu; Nepal Electricity Authority and the District Coordination Committee (DDC), Jumla; on Wednesday virtually inaugurated a newly rehabilitated Small Hydro Power Plant at Chandannath Municipality in Jumla District constructed with Government of India (GOI) financial assistance of Nepali ₹ 26.39 million.
The grant from the GOI was used for the building of a reservoir tank and the rehabilitation of a small hydropower plant as part of the ‘Nepal-Bharat Development Cooperation.’ The power plant will support approximately 20,000 localities.
In 1983, the Nepal Electricity Authority built the Small Hydro Power Plant, which had a capacity of 200 KW. However, natural disaster caused damage to the power plant. India sprung in to action by providing financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the Jumla District Small Hydro Power Plant at the behest of the consumer committee, local citizens, and the DCC.
The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu stated, India has already completed 450 High Impact Community Development Project (HICDPs) in Nepal, including ten in Province-6, two in the Jumla District. In Province-6, four projects sponsored by the GOI are in various stages of completion/implementation. In addition to the above, the Embassy of India has presented five ambulances to various health posts and non-governmental organisations in the Jumla District. This small hydropower plant will help to meet the needs of an area where there hasn’t been much technical advancement, and it will be able to boost the population’s quality of life by creating jobs, growing the local economy, and enhancing the environment.
(Venkatesh Iyer)