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Tunnel test of Melamchi water project

KATHMANDU: The government  on Monday initiated the testing process of the tunnel for the country’s largest drinking water project, Melamchi Drinking Water Project.

Minister for Water Supply Mani Chandra Thapa the testing process by releasing water into the tunnel of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project after the Chinese contractor Sinohydro Corporation Limited completed digging the tunnel.

The project office said it would take around 17 days for the 27.5-km tunnel to be fully filled with water and then the tunnel will be in a full-load state for two months to see if there is any leakage or other problems.

“If no problem is seen in the tunnel during the testing process, the Kathmandu Valley will get water from the project after two months,” said Rajendra Pant, spokesperson at the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board.

The existing sources of water available in the Kathmandu Valley are insufficient to meet the rising demand with growing population. The drinking water project was launched in 2000 in a bid to address the shortage of water.

As per the population census of 2011, the population of Kathmandu Valley is around 2.5 million and the population is estimated to have grown much higher now.

The project aims to supply 170 million litres of fresh water per day. Together with available water supply, the commissioning of the Melamchi project is expected to largely relieve the water shortage in the valley.

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