The Bijayashwari Hydropower project at Chaujahari is not receiving enough water to produce electricity as an irrigation canal uses the same water. The hydropower project has not generated electricity for the past five months. [break]
The hydropower project was built 22 years ago to supply electricity to Khalanga and Chaurjahari. The 150 kilowatt project is in shambles now as it was not expanded to meet the rising demand for electricity. Currently, there are 1,800 households in Khalanga and Chaurjahari. These households do not have the luxury of uninterrupted power supply.
Jay Bahadur Malla, a staffer at the hydropower project, said farmers divert water for irrigation, thus interrupting power supply. There is a narrow canal that supplies water for power generation as well as for irrigation. Even though there is plenty of water in monsoon, the canal is so narrow that it suffices only to irrigate farmlands, Malla said.
Interestingly, the hydropower project operates for six hours every day in the dry season. But in monsoon, when water is plentiful, power generation is stopped.
The blackout has badly affected services at the district hospital. Similarly, saw mills operating in Khalanga, batteries of a telecom tower, security barracks, computer institutes, cable networks, government offices, and non-governmental offices have also been severely hit.
For the past five months, the district hospital has faced problems conducting serious surgeries, according to hospital chief Dr Jhalak Sharma. He added that lab tests and video X-ray services have also been affected.
“At times, we make do with a generator. But even that doesn´t work when the generator breaks down or we run short of fuel,” he added.
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