By IANS
Kathmandu : A tender notice issued by the Bihar government to study the feasibility of a power project near the Nepal border has raised hackles in the Himalayan nation with the media raising the spectre of inundation.
Last month, the Bihar State Hydroelectric Power Corporation issued a tender notice for a detailed report on a 126 MW hydropower project on the Koshi river.
The Dagmara hydel project in Bihar's Supaul district will be near Kunauli village in Nepal's Saptari district, the southernmost tip of Nepal.
According to the tender notice, the project involves building a barrage-like structure and is expected to be completed in five years.
However, a Nepali daily now says the project could affect "tens of thousands of families" living in the border areas of Saptari.
The Kathmandu Post quoted a Nepali official as saying that a new barrage near the border would affect Nepal.
"Building a barrage just 8 km south of the border will surely affect Nepal," the Post reported Koshi High Dam Committee official Umesh Nath Parajuli as saying.
"The effect can be more serious when such barrages are built on flat land, which is the case in Saptari."
The Post also said that Nepal's Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention is unaware of the Indian decision to build a project near the border.
The report published Monday caused the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to respond, saying the tender notice was intended for a feasibility study and not immediate implementation of the project.
"At this stage, the project site has only been identified through a very preliminary survey," Jawed Ashraf, counsellor, commerce division, reportedly told the Post.
"Only after a study is carried out can it be ascertained whether there will be any risk of inundation of Indian or Nepali territory."
The Indian official also reportedly told the daily that should the Bihar government decide to implement the project, they would discuss it with the government of Nepal "to ensure there is no inundation risk in Nepal".
The sharing of water resources remains one of the most contentious issues between India and Nepal.
No Indian company or joint venture has so far been able to execute a hydropower project in Nepal.
Every monsoon, disputes over flooding arise between the bordering areas of both countries.