DARCHULA: Darchula district still largely depends on electricity supply from India although there are three big and small hydroelectricity plants generating nearly a hundred megawatts of power in the district itself.

Not only the district headquarters, Khalanga, many rural areas in the district are using power imported across the border from India. The people in many settlements in the district have to stay in darkness whenever there is power outage in India.

The district has the 30-megawatts Chameliya Hydroelectricity Project, the 8.5-megawatts capacity Upper Naugaad hydroelectricity Project, the 250-kilowatts Dunguri Hydro Electricity Project, among few others, that are producing power.

The district still imports 800 kilowatts power from three places of India. One hundred kilowatts electricity is imported from Lali of Lekam, 100 kilowatts electricity from Huti of Byas and 600 kilowatts electricity from the border area at Jauljabi of Malikarjun rural municipality.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the state power utility, has distributed power generated from the power plant at Dunguri alone to the district headquarters Khalanga and surrounding places.

Apart from this, power supplied to remaining areas of the district has been imported from India, said NEA’s Drachula distribution centre chief Dayaram Shah.

According to Shah, electricity generated from other power plants in the district except Dunguri is supplied to other districts of the Far-western province.