Ilam, May 26:

Generation of electricity at the Puwakhola Hydroelectric project was disrupted for seven hours after locals of Sangrumba VDC stopped the supply of water to the project yesterday.

Demanding that their village too be electrified, locals of Sangrumba VDC are staging an agitation. They cut the supply of water to the project at 10 am yesterday, took control of the intake pipe and reversed the flow of water. Water supply at the project resume at 6 pm after talks were held between the agitators and the authority concerned to initiate the process of estimating the cost of electrification in Sangrumba VDC and to provide electricity to the village in the centre, chairperson of the Sangrumba Electricity Management Committee, Kul Prasad Upreti, said.

The project began generating electricity from March 13, 2000.

The agitating locals submitted a memorandum to the Ilam district office of the Nepal Electricity Authority on Sunday, staged a sit-in at the office for three hours last Wednesday and padlocked the office last Thursday.