Construction of 900 MW Arun III Hydropower Project stalled due to protest of local people

Kathmandu : The construction work of the 900 megawatts Arun III Hydropower Project has come to a halt due to the protests by local people.

According to the project, local people from Khandbari Municipality-4 and Chichila Rural Municipality-2 have been staging protests since September 2. The local people have been demanding the authority concerned to provide appropriate compensation for the 24 kilometers stretch between Chhyangkuti and Diding.

 A struggle committee of the project affected people has been obstructing the road segment connecting the project construction site of the Arun III for the past 52 days. Due to the protest at the entry point of the project site, it has hindered transportation of construction materials.

According to a member of the struggling committee, the land owners of 454 ropanis of land have not received compensation. Although the compensations for the majority of the land plots were distributed in 1990, other landowners are yet to receive the amount.

Arun III Hydropower Project is being constructed by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited of India. As per the Project Development Agreement, the Government of Nepal is liable to pay compensation of Rs 50 million daily to the Indian contractor if the construction work is obstructed due to protest by local people.