Pancheshwor meeting fails to agree on thorny issues

Kathmandu, Feb 28. The meeting of the experts from Nepal and India has failed to reach an agreement on some major issues relating to the construction of the Pancheshwor Multipurpose Hydropower Project.

The two-day meeting concluded on Thursday did not reach the conclusion on availability of water and capacity of the project.

Spokesperson at the Ministry of Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Prabin Raj Aryal, informed RSS that further discussion was needed because agreement was made only on 64 disputed issues out of 168 in course of the preparation of detailed project report. Agreement was eluded on major issues.

Sharing of water, utility of water, investment in project, capacity of hydropower, irrigation and flood control were the pressing issues requiring further discussion, he added.

The Nepali side insisted that Nepal should be provided water in Dodhara and Chandani as per the Mahakali Treaty. But, the Indian side said it could be dealt only after the completion of the project.