KATHMANDU: The 456-megawatt Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, severely damaged by floods and landslides in September, has resumed partial electricity generation.
Located in Lamabagar, Bigu Rural Municipality-1, Dolakha, the project restarted operations on Tuesday after nearly three months of repair work.
Floods and landslides triggered by incessant rains on September 27 and 28 caused extensive damage to the project’s infrastructure, including the sand-storage ponds, control building, and underground canals.
Despite these challenges, 120 megawatts of electricity is now being generated by diverting water directly from the reservoir, said Mohan Prasad Gautam, Executive Chief of the Power Center.
The damaged left-hand sand-storage pond has been rebuilt, while repairs to the right-hand sand-storage pond are set to begin in early January.
Gautam said it will take another one to one and a half months for the power center to be fully operational.
The disaster also inflicted significant damage to the project’s power control center, located above the headworks. Reconstruction of this key structure is expected to take at least another year.
The September landslide buried the project’s two-story control building and caused extensive damage to the sand-settling pond, control room, and the underground culvert carrying water from the dam.
The disaster resulted in four fatalities and damages worth approximately Rs 1.8 billion.
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