SINDHULI, Feb 17: Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project is preparing to provide compensation to locals that will be affected by construction of dam and other infrastructures of the mega project.
The national pride project will build a dam at Ward 7 of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality.
Sushil Chandra Acharya, director of Sunkoshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project, said the project office has already started acquiring land and distributing compensation to locals of Kusumtar in Ward 2 of Kamalamai Municipality where the water diverted from Sunkoshi will flow into Marin River. The project will also build a hydropower plant having capacity of 28 MW at Kusumtar. "Now, we have started preparations to acquire land at the dam site," Acharya added.
The project office held an interaction with locals of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality at Khalte in Ward 6 of the municipality to collect their feedbacks on land acquisition. Speaking at the interaction, Pushpa Bahadur Karki, chairperson of Golanjor Rural Municipality of Sindhuli, demanded the project office to provide compensation for locals of Golanjor Rural Municipality living on the Sunkoshi river banks as they are also affected by the project. "The area will become dry and arid after Sunkoshi River is diverted. The project office needs to look into the matter seriously," he added.
Bishwa Bandhu KC, chief senior division hydrologist at the project, said the project office has already started distributing compensation to 50 locals of Kusumtar area. "Now, we have started preparation to acquire land in places which will be inundated by the dam," he added.
Also speaking at the program, Janardan Gautam, coordinator of Compensation Fixation Committee, assured all the government will distribute compensation without any discrimination. "The government should not hesitate to provide reasonable compensation, and landowners also should not demand excessive compensation," he added.
The project will divert 67 cum/sec of water from Sunkoshi Rivet to Marin River through a 13.1-kilometer tunnel. The water flown in the tunnel will also generate 28 MW of hydropower, according to Acharya.
The government is developing the project to provide irrigation facility to 122,000 hectares of cultivable land in Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari and Dhanusha districts of Province 2. Increased flow of water in Marin River will improve the capacity of the existing Bagmati Irrigation Project which is currently providing irrigation facility to about 42,000 hectares of land in Sarlahi and Rautahat districts.