Hari Man Shrestha, the first man to predict the theoretical 83,000 megawatt hydropower potential in Nepal, passed away on Friday. He was 83.

Shrestha, a water resource expert, was born in 1934 in Kathmandu.  He completed PhD in Technical Science from Moscow Power Institute in 1966 AD.

Shrestha was suffering from heart related problems since 2004 and cancer of urine bladder. He received treatment for cancer in 2009. Shrestha recently underwent surgery of his both eyes.

Having over 40 years of experience in the fields of hydropower and water resources, Shrestha is believed to have huge knowledge in Nepal’s hydropower and water resource.

He also worked with Nepal government for considerable period of his professional career.

Shrestha, whose aspiration was to use Nepal’s water resources on the basis of extensive analytical study, was concerned that the country’s water resource was going into the hands of outsiders instead of using it for the country’s own development, according to Hydro Nepal Journal.

Referring to Shrestha’s exciting finding of 83,000 MW hydropower potential in Nepal, the Hydro Nepal Journal states: “Forty eight years on, that figure still stands as the ‘Mantra’ on Nepal’s hydropower potential.”