The repair and maintenance of Rukum’s Bafikot-based Syarputal Small Hydropower Project is on near completion.
The project was brought into operation with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency from 1989.
The project has been halted for repairs following serious problems with its powerhouse machines from December 2014.
The repair, which was supposed to be over by the end of the current fiscal, is being carried out with support from JICA and a Japanese company — Marushin Shitaka Construction Pvt Ltd. After intensive repairs, the project will have a new intake constructed, two new modern machines will replace the old ones at the powerhouse and the canal will get a facelift.
“Earlier, we had to manually operate the machines with a pedal, but the new machines are automatic. This will reduce risk to persons operating such machines,” said Rukumeli Electricity Committee Chief Ram Bahadur KC.
The 250 kw project lights up around 5,000 households in the district headquarters Khalanga. During repairs, however, Marushin Shitaka Construction has been providing power for two hours each day to local households on a temporary basis.
Source The Himalayan Times.
