Arughat, October 14
Floods along the Budhi Gandaki River have left thousands of households without electricity in northern Gorkha after sweeping away a micro-hydropower plant and damaging power infrastructure.
On Sunday, floods originating near the Ungilung Khola in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6 washed away the Sirdibas Uhiya Micro Hydropower Project in Jagat, Ward 3, disrupting electricity supply in wards 3 and 6.
Sujan Gurung, chairperson of the hydropower project, said 971 households had been affected. Electricity has been disrupted in Lokpa, Dungla, Nyak, Philim, Chisapani, Anga, Sarsyun, Nagchet, Ghattikhola, Pangsing, Jagat, Salleri, Paiyun, Bhaluban and Sirdibas.
“The flood swept away 12 electricity poles, a tower and the wires. The powerhouse itself is safe,” Gurung said. “There has been no electricity in this area since the flood hit at around 4am on Sunday.”
Narayan Sapkota, chief administrative officer of Chumnubri Rural Municipality, said the power outage had severely affected communities in northern Gorkha. Administrative work at the rural municipality has come to a standstill due to the lack of electricity and internet access, while private organisations and local residents are also facing difficulties.
“The flood swept away bridges, roads and electricity infrastructure. In this digital age, the lack of electricity has made communication difficult,” Sapkota said, adding that telephone communication on Sunday morning had helped save hundreds of lives.
Residents have been charging their mobile phones using solar panels installed at some houses in Philim and making calls from there, he said.
Kumari Gurung, former vice-chairperson of Chumnubri Rural Municipality, said travel between villages in the flood-affected areas had become nearly impossible after bridges and roads were washed away.
“There is no way to go down from Philim or up to the higher areas. The flood swept away the bridges and roads,” she said. “Without electricity, the area has been plunged into darkness. Fortunately, there has been no loss of human life.”
She said most settlements in northern Gorkha were facing disruptions to both electricity and internet services.
The neighbouring Dharche Rural Municipality has also been severely affected, with around 4,000 households across all seven wards left without electricity, according to its chief administrative officer, Buddhi Ram Basnet.
Basnet said the floods had damaged the Nepal Electricity Authority’s distribution centre in Arughat, disrupting power supply to the rural municipality.
“The flood swept away electricity infrastructure, communication facilities, roads and bridges,” he said.
In Arughat Rural Municipality, 50 households in the Shantibazaar area of Ward 5 have also been left without electricity, according to rural municipality chairperson Raju Gurung.
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