Ahead of PM Modi’s Nepal Visit, Blast Rocks Hydroelectricity Plant
This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.
A bomb exploded at the office of a hydroelectricity project being developed with Indian assistance in eastern Nepal on Sunday, 29 April, an official said. The explosion took place weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The compound wall of the 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Tumlingtar area, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu, was damaged in the explosion, said Siva Raj Joshi, Chief District Officer of the Sankhuwasabha district.
The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.
The blast comes at a time when preparations are going on for laying foundation stone of the project by Modi during his official visit to Nepal on 11 May.
However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added.
A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on 25 November 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi.
On 17 April, 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 US $1.5 billion foreign direct investment into Nepal and create jobs for thousands of people.
(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)