SINDHUPALCHOWK, Aug 15: The road leading to the Melamchi Water Supply Project's source in Ambathan has been blocked by flood. The Chairman of Helambu Rural Municipality, Nima Gyalzen Sherpa, informed Republica that the continuous rain has damaged the Helambu Highway at various places.

He complained that due to flooding in the Melamchi River, the road network from Dhungebazar of Helambu Rural Municipality has been breached and some settlements, public structures, and agricultural land are at high risk. He also said that both the federal and provincial governments have ignored this issue. He added that even the national pride project - Melamchi Drinking Water Project - has not shown interest in addressing this disaster.

Chairman Sherpa said, "Helambu is a municipality without internal resources, and despite that, there has been a budget cut this year. In the midst of the ongoing crisis that has caused damage in Helambu, should the budget be spent on development or directed towards water extraction?"

Sherpa said that even if the water supply project is halted temporarily at present, it should not be ignored. He suggested that if the project were to resume water extraction, he mentioned that the project should take responsibility for managing the road network all the way from Melamchi to the project site.

According to Chairman Sherpa, work is currently being done to operate an alternative road connecting Helambu via Pati Bhanjyang. He said that as the road transport in Helambu has been completely disrupted due to floods, efforts have been started to re-connect the municipality to the road network, using alternative routes.

Sherpa said that work is underway for the construction of a road that can be reached from Kathmandu to Galthum in Helambu via Sankhu, Bhotechour, Haibung, Pati Bhanjyang. He explained that after all the attempts to control and manage the river last winter failed, tension has been created now. "Budgets worth millions of rupees were spent to restore the river to its original state, but still there is no achievement. In the future, I will stop deploying machinery in the river haphazardly without a long-term plan in Helambu," said Chairman Sherpa.

 
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