The government has assured that water from the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) will continue to flow to Kathmandu Valley even during this monsoon season, despite the risks of flood-related disruptions.
The MWSP, a much-awaited project launched to ease chronic water shortages in the capital, has faced repeated interruptions every year since a massive flood in the Melamchi River in mid-June 2021 devastated key project infrastructure. The flood caused heavy damage to the intake structure, tunnel, and other facilities, leading to supply disruptions during subsequent monsoons.
This year, the government says it has taken special measures to ensure uninterrupted supply. According to the state-owned national news agency RSS, Minister for Water Supply, Pradip Yadav, said on Monday that water from Melamchi would be available throughout the rainy season, thanks to new backup infrastructure installed at the site.
"For the continuous supply of drinking water in the Kathmandu Valley, the newly built water tank here has been successfully tested. It will serve as an alternative mechanism to keep water flowing through the MWSP so that residents do not face shortages," Minister Yadav said while inspecting the tank in Sindhupalchok district.
The tank was specifically constructed to prevent disruptions caused by potential floods in the Melamchi River during the rainy season. "The government is committed to ensuring sustainable water supply for Kathmandu Valley," RSS quoted Minister Yadav as saying.
Executive Director of the Melamchi Water Supply Development Committee, engineer Ratna Prasad Lamichhane, said that 50 to 70 million litres of water per day could now be delivered to Kathmandu through the Melamchi tunnel, with infrastructure upgrades now in place.
"Physical infrastructure has been prepared, and water from the river will be channelled through the tank into the Melamchi drinking water tunnel to ensure steady supply to Kathmandu," Lamichhane explained. He also said that maintenance of both the tunnel and distribution system had been carried out to minimise potential disruptions.
The June 2021 flood caused serious setbacks to the MWSP, leaving Kathmandu’s already water-starved residents facing long periods of scarcity. Since then, efforts have been ongoing to restore reliability to the system, especially during the vulnerable monsoon period.
