KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 2

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal today phoned the Director of Nagdhunga Tunnel Project Nabinman Shrestha and asked him to come up with a plan within a week to address local people's grievances.

Locals around the tunnel project have complained that their houses have developed cracks and the natural source of water has dried up, affecting livelihood and agriculture.

PM Dahal, who had gone to Chandragiri area to launch his party's 'Maoist with people' campaign, phoned Shrestha from the programme venue after locals complained that their concerns had gone unaddressed.

According to Ward No 1 Chair of Chandragiri Municipality Bhai Krishna Tamang, many locals complained that the natural water sources around the project area had dried up due to the tunnel project adversely impacting the irrigation system in the area. Some people complained that their houses had developed cracks as a result of blasting at the project site.

He said the project had pledged in the memorandum of understanding that it would provide drinking water to the locals, but the project had failed to fulfil its responsibility. 'Project authorities should either provide the affected people tanker water or dig deep borings to supply water,' he said and added that natural water sources dried up as large amounts of water had accumulated in the tunnel.

Tamang said that some people whose land price was only around 1.2 million rupees got compensation up to Rs 57 million, but those people hit hard by the project had not got anything.

'Nagdhunga tunnel project should spend some money earned from the project for local people. The project should provide local people enough compensation and job opportunities. The project should look into the economic and social advancement of local people around the project site,' he said.

According to Shrestha, more than 100 households from the tunnel area had filed complaints with the project demanding compensation for their cracked houses. Although some are saying that the shifting of ground water around the tunnel could have caused cracks in the nearby houses, it is hard to determine, Shrestha said and added that the project had been providing tanker water to locals affected by the tunnel. 'We dug two deep borings but there was no discharge of water from those borings,' he added. He said the ward chairs of Chandragiri Municipality also needed to supplement the project's efforts to provide drinking water to the affected population.

Mayor of Chandragiri Municipality Ghanashyam Giri, however, said some groups with vested interest were trying to complicate things. He said some impacts from the project could not be avoided and people should be ready to sacrifice a little as the project would bring many other benefits, particularly economic activities. He said locals' land price had skyrocketed in the area and they should also take this into account.

Nagdhunga tunnel connects Sisnekhola in Dhading with Kispidi in Thankot. The tunnel will stretch as far as 2.7 km and be 12 metre-wide and eight-metres high. The government extended the tunnel period by one year but Shrestha said that they would need almost one-and-ahalf year to complete construction works to get the project ready.

The project is being built with loan assistance from JICA. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 13.33 billion. Shrestha said that the project cost could go up. The project will reduce travel distance by almost four kilometres.

Then prime minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation stone of the project on 10 November 2019.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 03, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.