Locals have obstructed the construction of a 9-kilometer, 33 kV transmission line stretching from Kamalbajar in Achham to Saikhola in Dailekh. Residents of Panchdeval Binayak Municipality-4, Todkesal, have created the obstruction, demanding electricity supply to their area in exchange for allowing poles to be installed in their fields for the transmission line.

Chhatra Bahadur Bista, a local resident, stated that the work was obstructed because they would not be able to access electricity despite the transmission line passing through their homes and fields. “Poles are being installed in our fields to carry the electricity line, but we are left in the dark. Such injustice cannot be tolerated,” he said. “We will not allow the line to be extended unless our village is provided with electricity.” A total of 146 households, including 53 from Belkhet Sayan Village of Panchdeval Binayak-3 and 93 from Todkesal of Ward-4, remain in darkness.

He explained that they were forced to block the electricity line heading to Kalikot and Jumla through their fields because the promise to provide electricity from the Kamalbajar transmission line, made over a year ago, had not been fulfilled. Namraj Buduwal, a student, expressed frustration, saying that Mahendra Secondary School in Todkesal could not use computers despite having purchased them due to the lack of electricity. Hikmat BC, head of the Achham Distribution Center, stated that despite committing to provide electricity to these settlements within three months, the locals were not convinced.

The heads of the electricity distribution centers in Kalikot, Achham, and Dailekh have committed to providing electricity to Todkesal and Sayan villages. However, due to insufficient voltage in the national transmission line that extends from Kohalpur to Surkhet, Dailekh, and further to Kalikot, Jumla, and Mugu, 19,000 households in these areas, despite being electrified, are forced to live in darkness. “They claim the electricity is installed, but there’s no power when needed,” said Lalit Bishwakarma of Khadachakra-4. “During the evening, when electricity is most needed, low voltage leaves us in darkness.”

To address the issue of insufficient electricity supply during the winter season due to low voltage in the national transmission line coming from Kohalpur in Banke via Surkhet and Dailekh, the Kalikot Distribution Center initiated work on June 26 to extend a 33 kV transmission line over a 9-kilometer stretch from Kamalbazar to Saikhola. The project, with a budget of NPR 18.8 million, was scheduled to be completed by December 27.

Kalikot Distribution Center Chief Harendraray Yadav shared that the work was disrupted when only about 100 meters of wire remained to be stretched across the Karnali River in the 9-kilometer stretch from Kamalbajar to Saikhola. “The demands of the locals there are legitimate. However, they were unwilling to wait for some time,” he said.

Bishwakarma stated that the Kalikot Distribution Center could not provide electricity to the residents of Todkesal and Belkhet, as the line expansion work is currently ongoing from Achham. He also mentioned that they had provided 25 poles on their part to help with the electrification of the village.

Due to higher electricity consumption in Surkhet, Karnali, the current transmission line does not provide sufficient voltage. Therefore, the Kalikot Distribution Center plans to extend the 33 kV line from the Kamalbajar line, which runs through Dadeldhura, Attariya, to Kalikot, Jumla, and Mugu. Approximately 100 megawatts of electricity, including 19 megawatts from the Chameliya Hydroelectric Project, 65 megawatts from the Bajhang Kalanga Khola project, and 5 megawatts from the Api Hydro project, is imported via Dadeldhura and Attariya.

Source: Kantipur