सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Myagdi: Five hydropower projects under construction in Raghuganga Rural Municipality have agreed to complete the work under social responsibility. Following intense pressure from locals, five hydropower projects under construction in Raghuganga have given written consent to various demands.
The hydropower projects, which have been ignoring the demands of the community for a long time, have given written consent to their main demands, including the upgrading of dilapidated roads, in a discussion held at Mauwaphant, the center of the rural municipality, after discussions with political parties, people’s representatives, and locals.
After launching a phased protest, saying that the projects have failed to comply with past agreements to upgrade the roads in the affected areas, the 40-megawatt capacity Rahughat, 22.5-megawatt Tholukhola ‘A’, 35.5-megawatt capacity Rahughat Mangale, 21.3-megawatt capacity The Thulokhola and 48.5 MW Upper Rahughat Hydropower Projects had said that they would comply with the 33-point written demand.
The stakeholders’ meeting held on February 15 and 16 last year, in which the five hydropower projects under construction in the rural municipality presented their demands, gave written commitments regarding the immediate and long-term responsibilities of the projects, said the rural municipality chairman Bhava Bahadur Bhandari.
After the hydropower projects did not fulfill their minimum obligations, the rural municipality agreed after extensive discussions on the points presented as a collective demand.
All residents of Raghuganga in the affected areas have also been asked to distribute 10 percent shares The hydroelectric project has been agreed upon. The project had previously only involved residents of the affected areas in the share process.
In the memorandum of understanding, Raghuganga Hydropower has made a written commitment to immediately upgrade the road from Ghumune Tal to Mauwaphant via Mauwaphant to Bukl, where the dam is located, with gravel.
Although the current project report of the Rahughat Hydropower Project mentions that the contractor company will upgrade the road with gravel during the project handover, the project will blacktop the road from Ghumune Tal to Mauwaphant as demanded by the stakeholders.
After the contractor company of Rahughat, Jayaprakash Associates, handed over the road to the project, Raghuganga Hydropower will bear 80 percent of the cost of blacktopping the DBST technology and other projects under construction in this rural municipality will bear the remaining 20 percent based on production capacity.
Similarly, Tundi Power, Samyukta Urja and Thulokhola Hydropower will work an additional Rs 15 million in the current fiscal year to upgrade the motorway from Mauwaphant to Dagnam, Chimkhola and Patlekhorka. The rural municipality’s Chief Administrative Officer, Chet Narayan Bhandari, said that it has been agreed that the rural municipality, the provincial and federal governments, and the hydropower project currently under construction will collaborate to upgrade the road in the long term.
Similarly, the projects have also agreed to provide Rs 25-25 million for road upgrading in the current fiscal year in the project-affected areas of Jhin and Pakhapani. The project has agreed to spend the budget only on the joint recommendation of the ward and municipality to make the social responsibility amount transparent, and has pledged to support the construction of drinking water schemes and irrigation schemes, and to continue the teacher support provided to schools in the affected areas.
The commitment to be made by the projects has been signed by Raghuganga Hydropower Managing Director Ganesh KC, Tundi Power General Manager Indra Prasad Dhakal, Thulokhola Hydropower Finance Chief Pradeep Khatiwada, and Samyukta Urja Managing Director Gopal Prasad Niur.
At the program, House of Representatives member Kham Bahadur Garbuja and Provincial Assembly member Hari Bahadur Bhandari warned that the hydropower project would pay a heavy price if the agreement was not followed. .
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