More than two thousand trees have been cut down for the construction of the 1,063-megawatt Upper Arun project, which is set to be built in Bhotkhola Rural Municipality.

The trees were cut from national and community forests in Bhotkhola Rural Municipality-2 and 4. Chandralal Rai, Information Officer at the Division Forest Office, said that 2,168 trees were felled for the construction of the Upper Arun project and its access road.

According to Rai, Information Officer at the Division Forest Office, trees were felled over an area of approximately 21.08 hectares for the construction of the Upper Arun project and its access road - specifically in national forest land in Bhotkhola-4 and in the Paripakha Community Forest and Makpalung Community Forest areas in Bhotkhola-2.

The project has received permission to use forest land for 25 years. Along with this, work on the access road for the Upper Arun project is moving forward at a rapid pace. The Authority has begun work after signing a contract with India’s Gayatri JV and Jhapa-based Kankai Surunga JV Company for the construction of an access road of approximately 22 kilometers, including a 2.03-kilometer tunnel.

Similarly, more than 14,000 trees have so far been cut in the district for the construction of various hydropower projects. The Division Forest Office stated that 14,627 trees from 18 community forests were felled for the Arun III Hydropower Project and the Koshi Corridor transmission line. According to the Forest Office, 11 hydropower projects have used forest areas across six local levels in the district. In addition, 5,400 trees in government forest areas were cut solely for the expansion of electricity infrastructure.