EDITORIAL: For Timely Completion Of Upper Tamakoshi Project

The Upper Tamakoshi Hydro-electricity Project, with a capacity to generate 456 MW of power, was initiated on Wednesday in Dolkha district, which is by far the largest hydro-power plant in the country. Inaugurating the project, Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal termed it as a milestone in Nepal’s hydro power development and said that it was the beginning of an economic revolution in the country. Expected to be complete by 2015, should no obstacles come on the way, the power project would reduce the load shedding in the country to a large extent, while stimulating economic activities in the country.


The initiation of this power plant has provided the people, who have been suffering long hours of power outages, a sense of relief. Nepal at present is suffering its worst energy crisis due to the previous governments’ negligence, incompetence and irresponsible attitude towards the problems of the country and the people. In the absence of energy, many industries have shut down and many more are on the verge of closure. The energy crisis did not emerge overnight. Past governments failed to initiate any new project or find alternative ways to abort the looming crisis. The entire country and the people are, thus, paying the price. Had the past governments taken serious initiatives in time - both short and long term - to address the energy crisis, the country would not have been groping in the dark.


The demand for electricity is growing every year. Even if the Upper Tamakoshi is completed in time, the power generated would not meet the energy demands in 2015. In view of this situation, the government needs to initiate other projects, too. Moreover, immediate alternative plans to address the present energy crisis should be introduced and implemented so that the people find relief. Hydro-power generation requires huge funds, which means the country must try to attract foreign investment so that more power can be generated not only to meet the domestic needs but also for export to the energy-deficit countries of South Asia. Similarly, appropriate policies and programmes are needed to encourage the Nepali people to invest in small and medium hydro projects. Only the adoption of all possible measures will rescue the country from the acute energy crisis.

http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/rising.detail.php?article_id=50417&cat_id=7