While addressing the nation a few weeks ago, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had pledged to eradicate power crisis within a year by supporting wind energy projects along with the hydropower projects. However, no progress has been visible in bringing the plant back into operation.The project which was started in 1989 under a Danish organization with about Rs 10 million investments and free labor from locals was able to operate just two months. The windmill failed to uphold strong winds coming from northern direction and broke its two wings. These wings have not been repaired so far. Parts of the windmill worth million of rupees have been stolen, rendering the conservation and resumption efforts of the locals futile.
"We have requested the concerned authority to allocate necessary budget for conservation and repair of the windmill time and again," said Khagendra Tulachan, chairman of Mustang chapter of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI). "The government should really do what they say. Despite countless assurances from prime minister, no initiative towards restoring the project has been taken yet," he added.
According to him, Marpha, Jomsom, Kagbeni Muktinath VDCs along with many other places in the district carry huge potential for wind energy. "Some projects can also be done locally. Yet, the government has failed to give priority to such projects," said Tulachan.
Stakeholders opined that investment in wind energy can reduce pressure in the central transmission line. Additionally, wind energy has also been the center of attraction for many tourists. Strong winds blows in the district from 1 pm to 3 pm.
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