By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun / New Delhi, 22 Jul: Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Satpal Maharaj has requested the Union External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, to help expedite the approval for the multipurpose Pancheshwar Dam project, which has played an important role in strengthening the historic ties between India and Nepal.
Minister Satpal Maharaj met External Affairs Minister Jaishankar at his New Delhi residence on Friday and handed over a memorandum to him requesting that the process of approval for the Pancheshwar Dam project be expedited.
During the meeting, Minister Jaishankar was told that the 5040 MW Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project is proposed between India and Nepal on the Mahakali River, which would cost about Rs 50,000 crores. The project envisages construction of a 300 mts high Pancheshwar Dam and 95 mts high Rupaligarh Dam downstream. This project would be highly beneficial for both the countries.
During the conversation, Minister Maharaj, who also holds the Irrigation portfolio, told the External Affairs Minister that this scheme should be started at the earliest as it would bring tremendous prosperity to the border districts of Nepal and Uttarakhand. Just as Bhutan is selling electricity to India, similarly Nepal could also benefit by doing so. He said that in the coming times, many tourism activities can be conducted at the Pancheshwar Dam and it would become a tourism destination. It would also increase employment opportunities.
