Melamchi water supply closed due to muddy water

KATHMANDU, June 24: The Melamchi Water Supply Development Board has decided to close the main entrance of the tunnel of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) at Ambathan in Sindhupalchok from Monday. The board took a decision to this effect due to the increased water flow and flooding causing muddy water to enter the tunnel.

The executive director of the board, Ratna Lamichhane, said that the water in the Melamchi river has started to become muddy due to flooding and said that the project is going to be closed from Monday to protect the structure.

"We kept the project running until the river was flooded to facilitate the supply of drinking water to the people of the valley," he said.

Although the MWSP was supposed to be shut down on June 14, the water supply was not halted due to lack of heavy rain. Lamichhane said that the water supply continued as the flow of water in the river did not increase.

According to him, consultants and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are suggesting to close the water supply to protect the project from monsoon risk. 

According to him, the people of the valley will get Melamchi water again only after the end of the monsoon. 

The government learned the hard way to protect the headworks of the project from monsoon damage by closing the project at the onset of the rainy season and reopening it afterward.

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, monsoon was supposed to enter Nepal on June 13, but this time it entered three days earlier. Monsoon generally leaves Nepal on October 2.