The construction of the tunnel – contract of which is held by Italian CMC Company – to supply the drinking water from Melamchi to satiate the thirst of the Kathmandu Valley residents has slowed down with the failure to bring necessary high-end equipments in time. The delay in transport of the equipment by the contractor coupled with the severe shortage of petroleum products put a grinding halt on the project for a month which has low chance of completing on time, said Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee.
"The contractor company could not deliver the necessary high tech equipments used in construction of the tunnel as per the agreement," said Committee Executive Director Ghanshyam Bhattarai adding, "The Company has been seeking compensation under different pretext; is not working well whereas the work stopped for a month due to ongoing shortage of fuel."
Around 200,000 litres of diesel is used on a monthly basis during the construction of the tunnel. The construction work has stopped since October 1 due to diesel shortage. The construction of the high tech Water Processing Plant at Sundarijal has also stopped from October 15, according to Bhattarai.
The Plant – under construction at Mahankal area of Gokarneshwor Municipality-3 for processing 170 million liters of water from Melamchi on a daily basis – will process 80 million litres of water on the first phase, said Committee's Rajendra Prasad Pant.
The contractor had pledged to complete the construction of the plant and the tunnel by mid April next year. As per the agreement, if the company completes its work by that period it will be rewarded dividends. Only half of the construction of the 27 km tunnel has completed so far.
On the basis of the commitment made by the company, the government had made an announcement of supplying drinking water from Melamchi to every tap in Kathmandu Valley by April 13, 2016. RSS
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