Chitwan's Devnagar substation comes into operation

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 11: A 33/11 kV substation has come into operation at Devnagar of Bharatpur Metropolitan City-6 in Chitwan. The construction of the Devanagar substation with a 24 MVA power transformer was completed and charged on Thursday.

The 33 kV line from the 132 kV Baseni substation located in Bharatpur Metropolitan City -11 has been tapped at Gondrang and taken to the Devanagar substation, according to the NEA.

About 9.5 km 33 kV transmission line has been constructed from Gondrang to Devnagar substation. The transmission line is also charged. There are four feeders of 11 kV for local power supply from the Devnagar substation.

After starting the electricity supply from the Devnagar substation, the problem of low voltage faced by the consumers of Gaurigunj, Prembasti, Shivanagar, Phulbari, Gitanagar, Patihani and Sitamai in the south-west region of Bharatpur will be solved and the supply will be sufficient, reliable, quality and safe, said NEA. In addition to household customers, there are a large number of irrigation and hotel customers in the area.

The 33 kV lines and substations have been constructed with the investment of the government of Nepal and the Nepal Electricity Authority and a concessional loan received under the World Bank's Grid Solar and Energy Efficiency Project (Pacakge-9). 

The cost of the Gondrang-Devnagar 33 kV transmission line and the substation is around Rs. 95 million, said project chief Sangita Karki.

Karki said that although the substation was ready, there was some delay in bringing the substation into operation due to local obstacles in the construction of the line and the time required for environmental study and its approval. 

Karki said, "The COVID-19 pandemic, problems in land acquisition, stretching the transmission line through the forest of the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, the extra time required for the environmental impact study and approval and obstruction created locals caused the delay in the construction of the substation."

The construction of the transmission line resumed only in February this year after the environmental study report was approved. However, the construction of the line was again halted after a few locals started obstructing the construction work.

But the obstruction created by a few locals was solved through the initiatives of Mayor of Bharatpur Metropolitan City Renu Dahal, Deputy Mayor Chitrasen Adhikari, Chief District Officer Bhupendra Thapa, concerned ward presidents, hoteliers, irrigation consumers, project management, security personnel who were suffering from the problem of low voltage electricity supply.