Kulekhani reservoir fully filled

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    The Kulekhani reservoir is at an altitude of 1,530 meters above the sea level and is 45 meters deep. With the help of sand bag level was increased by 30 cm and this is likely to ease power cuts to some extent this winter.

    The reservoir of the Kulekhani I Hydropower Project has been filled. With the fill-up of this reservoir, considered as a ‘power back-up’ of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), load-shedding hours are not expected to increase this winter.
    Project Chief Ram Kumar Yadav informed TC that the reservoir’s water level was 1530.30 meter on last Sunday. “There is adequate amount of water in the reservoir,” he said.
    Though the reservoir’s maximum holding capacity is 1530 meter, reservoirs height has been increased by 30cm by piling up sand sacks along its brim, a project official said.
    Stating that additional water has been collected in the reservoir, the NEA said that it does not need to increase the load-shedding hours time this year.  Bhuwan Chhetri, Chief of Load Dispatch Center at NEA, confirmed the report.
    The project that generally operates from 5 pm to 10 pm every day, was started from 3 pm last Sunday due to the excessive rise of water level in the reservoir.
    Project’s Chief Yadav said that water is collected in the reservoir during day and night times and can be operated on requirement basis. He attributed the excessive rise of water level in the reservoir to adequate rainfall during the monsoon season.
    The reservoir water is collected from around three-dozen of small and big rivers of the water basin.  The project office has informed that the water level of the reservoir has not gone down below 1505 meter this year as the rainfall started from
    mid-May.
    Meanwhile, the construction work of  14 MW Kulekhani III hydropower project also has completed by 71 per cent. Indra Bir Ghimire, Deputy Manager of the project, said that if the project does not face any disruptions, it will start generating electricity within nine months.
    “We are working in full swing to complete the remaining 29 per cent of work within a nine-month period,” Ghimire said.
    The project is scheduled to complete by September 13, 2014. Ghimire informed that four kms of tunnel drilling and about 90 per cent reservoir construction has been completed.
    The project was started on April 27, 2008 with an aim to complete it by 2012.  Project officials blamed obstruction from the locals, delay by the contractors and NEA’s sluggishness as reasons for not meeting the construction deadline.

     Kulekhani Reservoirमङ्सिर २३, हेटौंडा । कुलेखानी पहिलो जलविद्युत् आयोजनाको जलाशय (इन्द्रसरोवर) भरिएको छ । नेपाल विद्युत् प्राधिकरणको ‘पावर ब्याकअप’ मानिएको सो जलाशय भरिएपछि लोडशेडिङ तत्काल नबढ्ने भएको छ । जलाशयमा आइतवार दिउँसोसम्म १ हजार ५ सय ३० दशमलव ३० मिटर पानी रहेको आयोजना प्रमुख रामकुमार यादवले अभियानलाई बताए । उनले भने, ‘जलाशयमा अधिकतम पानी सङ्कलन भइसकेको छ ।’ जलाशयको पानी सङ्कलन क्षमता १ हजार ५ सय ३० मिटर भए पनि बोरा राखेर थप ३० सेण्टिमिटर पानी सङ्कलन गरिएको आयोजनाले बताएको छ । थप पानी सञ्चित गरिएकाले लोडशेडिङ तत्काल बढाउनुपर्ने अवस्था नभएको प्राधिकरणको भनाइ छ । प्राधिकरण भार प्रेषण केन्द्रका प्रबन्धक भुवन क्षत्रीले पनि लोडशेडिङ तत्काल बढाउने योजना नभएको बताए ।

    प्रत्येक दिन बेलुका ४ बजेदेखि राति १० बजेसम्म सञ्चालन गरिने सो आयोजना आइतवार भने पानी बढी भएकै कारण ३ बजेदेखि नै सञ्चालन गरिएको आयोजनाका एक कर्मचारीले बताए । आयोजना प्रमुख यादवका अनुसार आवश्यकताअनुरूप आयोजना सञ्चालन गर्ने गरिएको छ । अहिले दिउँसो र राति गरी दुवै समयमा जलाशयमा पानी सङ्कलन गरिरहेको उनले बताए । यो वर्ष पानी परिरहेकाले पनि आयोजनाको जलाशयमा पानी सजिलै भरिएको यादवले बताए । गतवर्ष पनि असोजको अन्तिम सातामा जलाशय भरिएको थियो ।

    कुलेखानी जलाशयमा जलाधार वरिपरिका करीब ३ दर्जन साना–ठूला खोलाबाट पानी सञ्चय हुनेगर्छ । जेठदेखि नै जलाधार क्षेत्रमा पानी परेकाले कुलेखानी जलाशयको पानीको सतह यो वर्ष १ हजार ५ सय ५ मिटरभन्दा तल झर्न नपाएको आयोजनाले जानकारी दिएको छ । ७ किलोमिटर लम्बाइ र ३ सय मिटर चौडाइ क्षेत्रफल रहेको सो जलाशयमा सङ्कलन गरिएको ४६ मिटर पानी मात्र विद्युत् उत्पादनका लागि प्रयोग गर्न सकिन्छ । कुलेखानी जलविद्युत् आयोजना पहिलोबाट ६० र दोस्रोबाट ३२ मेगावाट विद्युत् उत्पादन गर्न सकिन्छ ।

    कुलेखानी जलाशय भरिएपछि आन्तरिक र बाह्य पर्यटक अवलोकनका लागि आउन थालेका छन् । प्रत्येक शनिवार काठमाडौंबाट जलाशय अवलोकन र डुङ्गा चढ्न आउनेको सङ्ख्या ह्वात्तै बढेको एक स्थानीय बासिन्दाले बताए । जलाशय भरिएपछि मार्खु बजारमा चहलपहल बढेको छ ।

    स्थानीय युवाहरूको संस्थाले सरोवरमा एक दर्जन काठका डुङ्गा सञ्चालन गरेका छन् । जलाशयमा रमाइलो लिने र कुलेखानीको माछा खानेको घुइँचो लाग्ने गरेको छ ।

    Source : Abhiyan