Blast at project site in Nepal

An explosion took place yesterday at the office of a hydroelectricity project in Nepal being developed by the Indian government.The compound wall of the 900MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant’s office in Tumlingtar area, nearly 500km from the capital Kathmandu, was damaged in the explosion, said Siva Raj Joshi, chief district officer of Sankhuwasabha.The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.The blast comes at a time when preparations are going on for laying the foundation stone of the project by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official visit to Nepal on May 11.No one was injured in the blast and an investigation has been launched, Joshi said, adding that no one had claimed responsibility for the blast.A project development agreement for Arun III was signed with India’s state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on November 25, 2014 in the presence of the then prime minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi.This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises.Nepal is currently facing shortage of power and the production of hydropower from the project will mainly serve its domestic demands. The project is expected to bring in $1.5bn foreign direct investment into Nepal and create jobs for thousands of people.