flood­ hit

 Repair work at flood­hit Melamchi undertaking probably to take months.

With the street to the venture website online reduce off after floods remaining month, officers aren’t certain when the restore work will begin. 

The undertaking to grant ingesting water to Kathmandu Valley has suffered losses really worth over Rs1 billion, as per preliminary estimates.

 The Melamchi Water Supply Project, which was once notably broken due to floods almost two weeks ago, is headed into uncertainty as officers are no longer positive when the restore work will start. In the 2d week of June, heavy rains caused landslides and floods in unique components of the Sindhupalchok district. 

The devastation was once more often than not suffered through Melamchi Bazar and the close by areas, consisting of the Melamchi task site. The project’s headworks web page at Ambathan stays buried in flood particles various metres deep. According to Rajendra Prasad Pant, spokesperson for the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, it stays unsure when the particles clearance and restoration works will begin. “If we go through the ordinary process, then work would possibly begin by means of September/October. Even at the earliest, travelling the web site and beginning injury evaluation and repairs do no longer seem to be feasible for two-three months or till the quit of the monsoon season,” Pant informed the Post.

 “We can begin clearing the particles from the headworks website solely after the floodwaters recede and clear water begins flowing in the river.” As per the preliminary assessment, the challenge has suffered extra than Rs1 billion well worth of damage. Pant, who is additionally a senior divisional engineer with the board, stated 10 to 15 metres of particles has piled up at the task web page and the cleanup work ought to price Rs300­Rs350 million. Likewise, the floods have broken the roads and bridges to the assignment website online and washed away the campsite and development materials. “We want to rebuild the camp site, restoration electrical energy and assemble canteens for the workers,” stated Pant.

 “Most importantly, street connectivity to the flooded web site stays disrupted. Improving roads and putting in bridges is possibly to take greater time even earlier than the cleanup work may want to be started.” 

The board has requested the Department of Roads and Nepal Army to restore the street and instal Bailey bridges to repair connectivity. “Nepal Army has Bailey bridges for restoring connectivity all through disasters. If they can grant some bridges and ferry them by means of a helicopter, it will assist us to attain the headworks website at Ambathan,” stated Pant. “We can begin clearing the particles from the headworks area." 

Although the principal tunnel, which ferries water from the Melamchi river in Sindhupalchok district to the Kathmandu Valley, stays intact, the manner of inspecting the tunnels with the aid of flushing out water from the important tunnel is additionally affected due to the floods. Hours earlier than the floods, the task had closed the gates to the principal tunnel and commenced emptying the water from the Sundarijal website to investigate the tunnel and entire the ultimate work at the headworks site. Over a two­month tunnel inspection period, the water from the tunnel would be launched first from the Sundarijal web page and then from Gyalthum and Ambathan. 

After Sundarijal, water had been launched from Gyalthum, however, it is now not viable to do so from Ambathan as the website online stays blocked by using flood debris. There is additionally any other problem. Government officers suspect that the floodwaters and particles should have entered the choice diversion tunnel of the headworks. The diversion tunnel was once constructed for draining the location for the building of the headworks. Later, it was once

additionally used as a choice tunnel for taking water into the important tunnel and flushing it. A 60­metre lengthy pipe with 1600mm diameter has been connected at the pinnacle of the tunnel. “The diversion tunnel used to be used for supplying river water to the most important tunnel on every occasion the headworks had to be closed for inspection. The diversion tunnel would make certain that water provides to the primary tunnel stays unhindered,” stated Pant. “Since the pipe has been established at the top part of the diversion tunnel, there is a small risk of the food particles getting into the pipe. But if sand and stones have entered the pipe, then it wishes to be cleared manually, which will take greater time.”