KATHMANDU, Nov 10: Residents of Helambu Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchowk, the source of Melamchi water supplied to the Kathmandu Valley, have demanded that the government allocate 25 per cent of the revenue earned from selling the water for local development and welfare.
For the past five days, locals have diverted the Melamchi River back to its original course, effectively halting the flow of water into the Melamchi Drinking Water Project tunnel, which supplies drinking water to the Valley.
Locals demand royalty for water supplied to valley
Representatives of the Ministry of Water Supply have been holding talks with the community over the past few days. While locals expect the discussions to conclude today, it remains unclear whether their demands will be met.
In addition to the revenue-sharing request, residents have called for the government to honour a previous 13-point agreement reached with former Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav on 7 October 2024. The agreement promised compensation for those affected by the floods of 15 June 2021, which destroyed dozens of houses and buried many others along both banks of the Melamchi River. The floods had also severely damaged the project’s headworks at Ambathan, which were later rebuilt to resume water diversion to the Valley.
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