New Delhi, March 7 :

Indian Energy Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today said the transmission line issue was hindering power trade between India and Nepal.

Talking to correspondents of Nepali newspapers here after the inauguration of the conference of SAARC energy ministers, Shinde said the construction of four double-circuit lines of 220 KV between Nepal and India is underway. “We can complete construction of at least three transmission lines in the next two-and-a-half-years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Water Resources Gyanendra Bahadur Karki met Shinde and discussed Nepal-India cooperation on water resources sector. “We are trying to kick off institutional development of hydel power,” he said.