Trans-border transmission line ready

By Our Correspondent,Bhairahawa, Mar. 4: The construction of 132 kV double circuit transmission line from Mainhiya in Rupandehi to Sampatiya in India has been completed. For that, a substation necessary for the power transmission line has also been constructed at Mainhiya in Siyari Rural Municipality.

From the substation built here, a transmission line has been constructed to connect the substation of Sampatiya (New Nautanwa) located in Uttar Pradesh, India. India is constructing a substation for the transmission line at Sampatiya.

In order to reduce the trade deficit, the government has a goal of producing a huge amount of electricity in the country and selling it to India. Accordingly, the government has expanded the hydropower production and the access route with India.

“Mainhiya-Sampatiya transmission line has been constructed. The construction of this transmission line, considered crucial for electricity trade with India, has been completed,” said project chief Hari Prasad Pandey.

According to the project, only a little technical work is left for the substation under the transmission line.

The foundation work has been completed and 96 towers required for transmission lines have been constructed.

Bharat Thapa, an engineer of the transmission line project, said that the work of expanding wires in the constructed tower has also been completed.

“We have completed the work towards Nepal at a fast pace,” he said, “Once the work towards India is completed, the transmission line will be operational.”

There is still some works to be done to build infrastructure at Sampatiya in India. This work will be done by India.

Thapa said that it will take around six months to a year to complete work under the Indian side as a substation is yet to be constructed there.

The project will be operational as soon as the work towards India is completed. Officials of the project said that there is a delay in the construction work towards India.

At present, Uttar Pradesh has only 33 kV transmission line structure to trade power between Nepal and Uttar Pradesh. 

After the start of Mainhiya-Sampatiya, the international electricity trade between Nepal and India will become easier.

“After the project comes into operation, Nepal will have the ability to sell and buy 180 to 200 megawatts of electricity to and from India immediately,” engineer Thapa said, “For this, the Indian side should complete the work at the earliest.”

The expansion of the 28-km-long transmission line touches the land of 1,700 local people. 

The project was affected when the government stopped land plotting while the work to hand out compensation to locals was in progress. 

But now, because of the disputes over the land, compensation distribution has stopped altogether.