Kathmandu, June 29:

Dewatering in the 2.7-km section of Indrawati River due to the Sindhupalchowk-based Indrawati III Hydroelectricity Project has been causing a long-term impact, said environment auditor Sangeeta Dhakal here today.

“The inflow of 0.3 cusecs of water from tributaries of Indrawati may not be sufficient to meet the water volume required for the existence of aquatic life,” Dhakal said, addressing an interaction on environment auditing at Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology. The ministry is carrying out environmental auditing for the first time.

Dhakal said the fish biomass in the river has declined. She laid emphasis on conducting environmental monitoring regularly. Batu Krishna Uprety, the ministry’s environment assessment section chief, said the environmental auditing was done to assess actual impact.