Kathmandu, Apr. 1:
Despite the claim of the Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Nepal Electricity
Authority (NEA) that the power outage has been completely removed from the
country, industries at the major industrial corridors in Terai have been facing
at least six hours load- shedding every day.
A businessman from the
Bhairahawa-Lumbini industrial corridor said that the industries there had been
forced to shut down their operation for six to eight hours a day.
The NEA has sent a
letters to the industries asking them not to run the machines for six hours a
day lest they will face action. The letter has created panic among the
industries there.
A cement industry in
Rupandehi said that they had received a letter from the NEA asking to shut the
manufacturing plant.
President of the Federation
of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Pashupati Murarka
confirmed that the industries were forced to shut their plant for certain hours
in a day.
"But, the business
community is hopeful that the problem will be solved by the next year and there
will be no load-shedding," said Murarka.
The industrialists have
said that they are still facing the problem of power outage and shortage of
low-skilled manpower.
Chairman of the Hydro
Committee at the FNCCI Gyanendra Lal Pradhan said that as the government failed
to import additional 50 megawatt electricity from India, the industrial at
Birgunj and Morang industrial corridor have been reeling from various problems.
"India has pledged
to provide 50 MW electricity to Birgunj, but the new leadership in the Uttar
Pradesh has promised that more electricity would be provided to the people
there, and therefore Nepal is unlikely to get the promised electricity from
India," said Pradhan.
A senior officer at the
NEA confirmed that it would purchase more electricity in the near future from
India.
"India has hiked
the price of electricity to Rs. 11 per unit the day before. Therefore, fresh
negotiations are needed," he said.
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