Lalitpur, July 4:

Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hisila Yami toured the Thosne river in northern Lalitpur yesterday to study the feasibility of bringing the river waters to the valley.

“As Melamchi waters alone will not be sufficient, we are thinking of tapping different sources of water lying at the surroundings of the Kathmandu Valley to meet the ever-increasing demand for water in the valley,” she told this daily.

“This will help the valley denizens cope with the shortage of water till the execution of the Melamchi project.”

According to Madan Shankar Shrestha, deputy general manager of the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC), a study on the feasibility of bringing Thosne river waters to

the valley was conducted in 1992.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NWSC Dr Laxmi Prasad Devkota said the valley can get some 30 million litres of water from the Thosne river every day.

Navaraj Khadka of the Republican Construction Entrepreneurs’ Front said a seven-kilometre-long tunnel should be constructed to bring the river waters to the valley.

He said 30 MLD (million litres per day) of water can be supplied to the valley by building a dam near the river. The river is located at the Lele-Chandanpur route.

Water requirement of the valley is 250 MLD, but the NWSC has been able to meet only half the requirement, Devkota said.

Khadka said a large number of stone mines situated in Lalitpur district are affecting the sources of water. “Some 40 stone mines are in operation in Lalitpur district alone,” he said.

Yami also inspected water reservoirs at Chapagaon and Gwalindaha of Badikhel while returning from Thosne. Maoist member of parliament, Narayani Devi Shrestha, who represents Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, human rights activist Mukti Pradhan and officials of the NWSC, accompanied Yami.

Yami, also an engineer, has also visited Matatirtha to check the feasibility of tapping water available there.