Kathmandu: The 144 MW Kaligandaki ‘A’ Hydropower Project, which has remained shut for the past four days due to flooding in the Kaligandaki River, is set to resume electricity generation from today.
Power generation at the project, located in Beltari of Kaligandaki Rural Municipality-5, had been suspended as river flows rose sharply, posing a potential risk to project infrastructure. According to the project, water levels in the river have now begun to recede, and generation will be restarted after removing silt accumulated inside the tunnel and inspecting the condition of the powerhouse.
Atmes Poudel, chief of the Kaligandaki ‘A’ Hydropower Station, said a technical team has already completed a post-flood inspection of the facility. Based on the assessment, the project is in a position to restart generation from 10:00 a.m. today.
“We suspended power generation to avoid any risk caused by the exceptionally high flow in the Kaligandaki River,” Poudel said. “As water levels have now started to decline, we are preparing to remove the silt deposited inside the tunnel, inspect the powerhouse, and bring the plant back into operation.”
Following the flooding in the Kaligandaki River, all gates of the project’s dam at Mirmi had been opened. Power generation was halted after water was released downstream from the dam.
Meanwhile, continuous rainfall over the past four days has also inundated Setibeni Bazaar, located at the confluence of Syangja, Parbat, and Gulmi districts. Due to the flooding, residents of 26 households have been relocated to a nearby school.
A motorable bridge connecting Syangja and Gulmi, located a short distance downstream from the project’s dam site, was also washed away by the Kaligandaki flood on Sunday morning.
Jalasarokar
