The Melamchi landslide shattered the dreams of the people of Kathmandu
Kathmandu. Frequent floods and landslides in the Melamchi River have pushed back the future of the Melamchi Drinking Water Project.
After a long wait, the project was severely damaged by the floods on June 20 and after, which has created confusion as to when the water of Melamchi will flow into the Kathmandu valley again.
The floods and landslides on June 20 caused severe damage to the headworks of the project, including the access road to temporary dam.
Further floods and landslides on July 31 have damaged additional structures. The Chanaute bridge on the access road of the project has been damaged due to the landslide on July 31.
Although the track of the access road damaged by the previous floods has been opened by the Helambu village municipality, it has been destroyed by the recent floods and landslides.
Rajendra Prasad Pant, senior divisional engineer of the Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee, informed that the floods were causing damage to the structure one after another by mixing stones, ballast, sand and soil from the upper part of the project headworks.
According to him, floods including mudslides come frequently from the catchment area of the project.