Valley unlikely to get rid of dust anytime soon

Kathmandu, November 17

Kathmandu Valley is unlikely to get rid of dust pollution until Melamchi Water Supply Project starts supplying water.

According to KMC, work on making Kathmandu Valley dust-free is yet to get momentum as laying of pipelines for Melamchi project remains incomplete. For the last few months, KMC has been trying to control dust pollution by sprinkling water on roads as a temporary solution.

KMC said brommers couldn’t be used unless the pits and potholes are filled and roads are black-topped.

Joint Spokesperson at KMC Nama Raj Dhakal said the MWSP had not yet completed testing of water distribution system, the Valley was unlikely to get rid of dust pollution.

Only around 1,100 metre tunnel of the Melamchi project remains to be excavated. Earlier contractor CMC Cooperativa Muratori e Cementisti di Ravenna had promised to breakthrough Ambathan-Gyalthum and Gyalthum-Sindhu both stretch respectively on November and December this year. Similarly, it had also promised to begin water delivery of Melamchi River by March 26, 2018.

The 27.5km tunnel comprises three stretches — Sundarijal-Sindhu, Sindhu-Gyalthum and Gyalthum-Ambathan, covering 9.5 km, 8 km and 9 km respectively.

Of three adit tunnels, the longest stretch Sundarijal-Sindhu, which covers 9.5 km, was completed on December 28 last year.

The Melamchi project’s first deadline expired in 2007 and second deadline in 2016. On April 3 this year, the deadline was extended to October 2017.

Started on 21 December 2000, the Melamchi Water Supply Project is assisted by the Asian Development Bank and aims to reduce drinking water scarcity in the Valley.

The Melamchi project envisages supplying 510,000,000 litres (170,000,000 million litres per day in the first phase and remaining 340,000,000 million litres per day in the second phase) of water per day to the Valley from the Melamchi, Yangri, and Larke rivers of Sindhupalchowk district.