Explosion at hydroelectricity project office in Nepal days before scheduled inauguration by Narendra Modi

Kathmandu: A bomb exploded on Sunday at the office of a hydroelectricity project in Nepal developed with Indian assistance, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a media report said. The compound wall of 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant’s office in Khandbari-9, Tumlingtar, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu, suffered minor damage after the explosion, My Republica reported. [caption id=“attachment_4423717” align=“alignleft” width=“385”] File image of Nepal Police. Reuters[/caption] The project is slated to come into operation by 2020. The power plant is scheduled to be inaugurated by Modi on his upcoming visit to Nepal on 11 May, the report said. A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India’s state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on 25 November, 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian prime minister Modi, the report said. The wall on the south side is slightly damaged due to the bomb explosion, Police Inspector Bed Prasad Gautam said. The investigation is going on about the incident. However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added. This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal. On 17 April, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises.