During the 9th meeting of the Joint Committee on Water Resources (JCWR), held in Kathmandu on September 23, India and Nepal agreed to take forward the Sapta Kosi high dam project through further studies.
Key points
- It was agreed to take forward the Sapta Kosi high dam project through further studies which take into consideration the planned upstream projects, submergence area of the Project as well as other social, environmental and technical aspects.
- Sapta Kosi High Dam is a multipurpose project proposed to be constructed on the Saptakoshi River of Nepal.
- The project is primarily aimed to control floods in south-east Nepal and northern Bihar and to generate hydropower.
- The ambitious multi-billion dollar project will provide irrigation, control floods and generate 3,000 MW of electricity.
- India is already constructing a 900 MW hydropower project on the Arun River in east Nepal at a cost $1.04 billion.
- Nepal has also signed a pact with an Indian company NHPC to develop Seti and West Seti river projects. Both plants are to be located on the West Seti River in Nepal’s least developed far western region.
About Saptakoshi River
- The Saptakoshi River has seven tributaries and is one of the biggest rivers in Nepal. The Koshi or Kosi River drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the southern slopes in Nepal.
- From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards, the Koshi River is also known as Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries.
- These include the Tamur Koshi originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east, Arun River from Tibet and Sun Koshi from the Gosainthan area farther west.
- The Sun Koshi’s tributaries from east to west are Dudh Koshi, Bhote Koshi, Tamba Koshi and Indravati Koshi.
- The Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district.
