The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the government to complete the works of Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) before Dashain.

The snail-paced progress of the project has been causing inconveniences to public as the trenches dug to lay the pipeline have not been buried properly, resulting in dust pollution, road blocks and traffic congestion in different parts of Kathmandu Valley. So a meeting of the PAC on Tuesday instructed the MWSP to speed up the works and tidy up the streets and neighbourhood where the pipe installation works have been completed.

The meeting also directed the officials of the MWSP and the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation (MoWSS) to submit monthly progress report of the works and furnish within a week the overall financial management report, as well as the compilation report of the project from the beginning up to now.

PAC Under Secretary Surendra Aryal said the committee issued the directives following a discussion with the officials associated with the  project.

The project officials have pledged to bring the water from Mealmchi River in Sindhupalchok district to the Water Treatment Plant in Sundarijal, Kathmandu, before Dashain, Aryal added.

MoWSS Secretary Bhim Prasad Upadhyay told the PAC that the works of MWSP had been expedited to supply drinking water in Kathmandu Valley by the set deadline.

Once the project is completed, the Valley would get a daily water supply of 170 million litres.

Chief of the MWSP, Ghanashyam Bhattarai, told the Post they were determined to complete the project on time, noting that only 4km of the tunnel remains to be constructed.

To ensure the project works are progressing unhindered and without delay, PAC is also planning to conduct on-site inspection.