December 19: Nepal Electricity Authority had started the work of laying underground electric cables in the Kathmandu Valley four years ago with the aim of beautifying the city and reducing the damage caused to the electric poles by wind. However, the work was halted towards the end of last fiscal year.

The NEA had set a target of completing the work in two and a half years. However, it has not been able to finish the work even in four years. As per the revised target, the NEA was supposed to lay underground cables in all the areas of the valley within last July. The deadline has been extended twice since the work could not be completed within the specified time.

Tara Prasad Pradhan, deputy executive director of the NEA’s Project Management Directorate, said that the work was not completed on time due to recurring obstacles. He said that the work of laying underground cables has been stopped since June/July.

According to Pradhan, they are currently connecting the underground cables to individual households in places where the work of laying the cables has already been completed. However, the work of digging road and laying new underground cables has been stopped for now.

Pradhan said that the work was stopped because the Department of Roads did not give permission to dig the roads in new places.

"Earlier, the department had given permission to dig the road on condition that the NEA deposited 20 percent of the cost of rebuilding the road for laying the underground wire. Now they are asking for 80 to 100 percent of the cost,'' Pradhan said.

He said that the NEA has been coordination with the department to sort out the issue. However, he said that it is not possible to say exactly when the work will start.

The authority has so far completed 75 percent work of laying underground wires that fall under the Maharajgunj distribution center. Likewise, 60 percent work under Ratnapark distribution center, 50 percent under Kirtipur, Baneshwar, Kuleshwar and Tripureshwar distribution centers have also been completed. The authority says that the work is incomplete in most of the places because the NEA cannot dig the road.

The NEA has been saying that it cannot deposit more than 25 percent of the cost, but the Department of Roads has maintained its stance of hundred percent deposits to cover the repair work.

Arjun Prasad Aryal, head of the Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project, said that the proposal to deposit 100 percent of the cost of reconstruction has been forwarded as the NEA has been digging the road to lay underground wire haphazardly and leaves the work incomplete.

An Indian construction company KEI Industries Limited was entrusted with the responsibility of laying the underground cables in Maharajgunj and Ratnapark distribution centers cables on March 15, 2019. The company was given 30 months to lay the underground wires. The deadline was extended by 15 months after the company failed to complete the work within the stipulated time. After the work could not be completed even within the extended deadline, the company was given another eight months in January to complete the work. Even the extended deadline has expired but the work has not been completed.