Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee has worked out a plan to access the water project site and restore damaged structures.
The project had suffered severe damage during the devastating June 15 flood in the Melamchi River. The committee has set a plan to reopen the approach road in coordination with the Department of Road, Nepali Army and the local governments, and to repair damaged structures and restore the water supply by mid-April 2022.
The details of losses caused by the flood followed by subsequent flooding the next month are yet to be assessed.
The committee said loss assessment had not be done as it was not possible to reach the project site physically. The project structures are buried under flood sediments and the loss can be estimated only after the sediments are removed, according to committee Information Officer Rajendra Prasad Panta.
The project headwork remains buried under 10-15 metres of the flood sediments and the time needed for restoring the project can be tentatively estimated only after the loss is assessed. Information Officer Pant said they were thinking of alternative water diversion as it was not possible to divert water from the headwork immediately. Access route to Ambathan of Healmbu and the headwork are likely to be affected the most by the floods.
The committee is discussing whether to rebuild the existing access road or find an alternative one. A decision will be taken in consultation with the experts concerned, he said.
(RSS)
