MYAGDI: Repair work has begun on power transmission lines supplying Annapurna Rural Municipality and Mustang, following damage caused by floods and landslides.
Flooding in the Kaligandaki River following heavy rainfall from September 24 to 26 damaged and brought down four towers of the 220 kV Dana-Khurkot transmission line at Pokharebgar, Dhirchyang and Bhirkate in Dowa, Annapurna Rural Municipality. The damage disrupted electricity supply to Mustang district and parts of Annapurna Rural Municipality.
The disruption has also affected six hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 176 MW in Myagdi and Mustang, as they have been unable to connect to the national grid. The resulting shutdown has caused losses estimated at millions of rupees, while the lack of electricity has also disrupted communication services and affected daily life.
Hemraj Chapagain, chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority’s Tatopani Distribution Centre, which oversees wards 2, 3, 4 and 5 of Annapurna Rural Municipality and the entire Mustang district, said preparations were underway to operate an alternative power supply route.
“As electricity cannot be supplied from the Dana substation immediately, we have started repairing the 33 kV transmission line from Milanchowk to Dana and Kobang in Mustang,” he said. “Several sections of the transmission line in Myagdi have also been damaged, so we have mobilised workers through NEA staff and contractors to carry out repairs.”
Chapagain, who recently returned from an on-site inspection, said the transmission and distribution lines in Mustang had not sustained damage. Repair work from Tatopani to Pokharebgar, the administrative centre of Annapurna Rural Municipality, has included repositioning fallen poles, removing damaged and tangled wires, and installing new ones.
One pole in Ghar and four poles along the section connecting Rakhu to Begkhola have fallen. Meanwhile, a 1.5-kilometre section between Begkhola and Tiplyang has been completely washed away by the Kaligandaki flood, taking poles and wires with it.
The lack of road access has created difficulties in transporting equipment and materials needed for the repair work. Supplies are being transported by vehicle from the NEA provincial office to Beni and then carried by porters from Beni to the Begkhola area. Chapagain said repair work on the damaged transmission lines was being carried out at a rapid pace.
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