KHOTANG, March 19: The Upper Rawakhola Hydropower Project, the operation of which was obstructed by the locals of Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality demanding compensation, has resumed.
The project's operation was restored after an all-party meeting held at the initiative of Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality Chairperson Samir Rai on Tuesday agreed to provide compensation to the landowners within 35 days.
The locals, led by the Private and Public Property Conservation Struggle Committee, had closed the hydropower project and obstructed its operation, demanding compensation. They had forcibly diverted the water from the project dam back to the river, halting power production.
Earlier, they had announced a phase-wise protest against Rawa Energy Development Company Limited, Halesi Energy Company Limited, and the Lower Mid Rawakhola Hydroelectric Project, which are based on the Rawakhola River that lies along the border of Sungdel and Dipsung.
The locals have launched a phase-wise protest against this "injustice," said Maitiraj Rai, coordinator of the Private and Public Property Conservation Struggle Committee, Kepilasgadhi. The hydropower companies have deceived the locals by not compensating for their property, he charged.
During the expansion of the transmission lines, some 5,200 meters of land were used by the hydropower developers. Likewise, 38 plots of land were acquired for pipeline expansions, it is said.
The all-party meeting also formed a seven-member coordination committee under the leadership of local Ratna Bahadur Rai to implement the agreement reached between the landowners and the hydropower project operators, said Rural Municipality Chair Rai.