Thorthormi mitigation project

The lake mitigation project manager, Dawchu Dukpa said about Nu 5M was spent in 2008 purchasing equipment and tools required for engineering and excavation works at the site.

Apart from that, he said, the study they had conducted of the lake some time between late 1995 and early 2000 had to be reassessed with a group of experts from abroad.

“So much time had elapsed since the first study and we wanted to find out the possibility of better excavation sites,” Dawchu Dukpa said, adding the intention was to start work on the mitigation of the lake following a detailed survey of it in 2008.

“But it just wasn’t possible,” he said.

The real mitigation works on the lake began in 2009. The project spent about Nu 26M for transportation of equipment to the campsite at Thanza, and monthly transportation of ration for the workers, including their salary.

This year, the project spent around Nu 30M, leaving it with close to Nu 70M of the total fund allocated.

Although the four-year project ends next year, the remaining amount, project officials said, was enough to squeeze in a space for one more year, should they fail to achieve their target of reducing the water level to five metres by next year.

“We have enough justifications to get the project board approve of an extension,” he said, adding that in 2009, the project was delayed by more than a month after it was struck by a cyclone; while this year the continual rain until September 24 and death of a few workers caused two months delay.

“Had it not been for these calamities we’d have reduced the water level in the lake by at least two metres in each year,” Dawchu Dukpa said. “The possibility of achieving this target is still good, as long as the factors are favourable.”

He clarified the total amount of money for the mitigation project came from the least developed country (LDC) fund, an accumulation of contributions from various rich nations.

“The global environmental fund only facilitates, while the UN development program coordinates between us and them,” he said.

Dawchu Dukpa said the fund contributed an overall USD 3.45M for the mitigation project, while the Austrian development corporation injected USD 800,000 and WWF USD 30,000.

“This year the Larsen and Toubro company, working on the Punatsangchu project, gave us Nu 200,000 to buy workers’ gumboots,” he said.

The whole money, he said, was split into three components of the project – mitigation, which was allotted USD 2.7M, of which USD 1.3M has been used, USD 900,000 for installing early warning system to be ready by mid-next year, and USD 400,000 for creating awareness on climate change and disaster risk and management.

[Courtesy:Kuensel]