Raghughat Hydel's works affected due to labour unrest

Myagdi- The construction of 40-megawatt Raghughat Hydro Power Project (Hydel) in Myagdi district has slowed down in the recent days. The labourers employed by Indian civil contractor Jaiprakash Associates (JP) have been staging protest due to delayed wages which impeded construction of hydroelectric dam, tunnel and power house under the project. The labourer unrest has stalled the construction of the project which has seen around 60 per cent physical progresses for civil works while the construction stands at some 25 per cent for electromechanical works, according to Project Chief Raj Bahadur Bista.

There are around 700 labourers working on-site under the project which is being constructed on joint investment by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and the Indian Import-Export (EXIM) Bank's concessional loan of USD 67 million. Project Chief Bista further shared, "The JP associated labourers are waging protest and padlocking the office of the project for some months due to delays in their wages. There is no problem on the part of the Project for their payment". According to him, the delay in the payment to workers is attributed to the internal issue within the construction company- Jaiprakash Associates (JP). JP senior manager Ram Singh, protesting workers resumed the construction works since last Saturday after the construction company made the commitment to address the payment issue. According to him, the wage for July month was paid on last Friday while the August remuneration is promised to be paid by 20 September. The agitated labourers returned to their work after they reached an agreement with the construction company in last Friday's discussion. The project was originally scheduled for completion in 2070 BS. It suffered stagnation and delays owing to various issues such as COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters and now the new deadline is set for October 17, 2024.

At present, infrastructures of power house are under-construction after the 6,270 metres long tunnel was connected on July 30 this year. Other under-construction infrastructures under the project includes 17 metres high and 31 metres long semi-reservoir damn at Jhinko bordering ward no 4 and 5 of Raghuganga rural municipality in the district. Likewise, infrastructures of a power house are being constructed at Tilchenichowk. Similarly, access to the project site has been ensured by building 11-km access road and a motorable bridge made by using the truss technology. Although the project had a target to conduct test production within mid-August, the financial challenges faced by the contractor company JP pose an obstacle to meeting the deadline.

Source: RSS