“Melamchi water supply will resume from third week of Sept”

KATHMANDU: Minister for Water Supply Pradip Yadav has said that the distribution of water from the Melamchi River in Kathmandu Valley will resume by the third week of September.

“We will start diverting water from the river into the tunnel as soon as the monsoon ends,” Yadav said in a National Assembly meeting on Tuesday. “We supplied water from alternative sources in the Kathmandu Valley after water supply from the Melamchi River was stopped with the advent of the monsoon.”

The Melamchi Water Supply Project Office has been shutting the Melamchi River tunnel during the monsoon to prevent potential damage to the tunnel and other infrastructure since the 2021 floods, which damaged the headworks at the project site.

The monsoon begins in the second week of June and generally ends in the third week of September.

Minister Yadav also informed lawmakers that the government has taken necessary measures to secure the Melamchi project’s dam site and ensure regular water supply.

Responding to a question on water supply in the Tarai-Madhesh region, Yadav said the drying up of deep boring wells has created challenges in water supply in the lowlands of Tarai. “The ministry is expediting ongoing water supply projects,” Yadav said