Trip to Pharping Power House
A hundred years ago, the Rana Prime
Minister, Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, ruled Nepal from 1901 AD until
his death in 1929 AD, by overthrowing Dev Shumsher. He went to England 1907 AD.
There he was amazed to see the light bulbs in every house. He
wanted the same to be in Nepal. The Rana Prime Minister requested the British
Government, so he was gifted with the machines to make a hydro power. He then
came to Nepal and started the construction in 1907 AD at Pharping. The
construction was completed after four years in 1911 AD.
Dear friends, can you imagine a day without
electricity? A day with no lights, electric gadgets, fans, fridges etc. you can
say it is probably impossible to live without electricity nowadays. But, people
have lived without electricity nearly a hundred years ago. We Nepalese got a
glimpse of electricity at 1911 A.D which is about a 107 years from now. Before
that there was darkness in the houses of Nepalese people.
Do you know about how the first hydro power
plant that was established in Nepal? If you don’t know, don’t worry. Here is
the story:
A hundred years ago, the Rana Prime
Minister, Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, ruled Nepal from 1901 AD until
his death in 1929 AD, by overthrowing Dev Shumsher. He went to England 1907 AD.
There he was amazed to see the light bulbs in every house. He
wanted the same to be in Nepal. The Rana Prime Minister requested the British
Government, so he was gifted with the machines to make a hydro power. He then
came to Nepal and started the construction in 1907 AD at Pharping. The
construction was completed after four years in 1911 AD.
The electric circuit was connected to the
royal palaces and some street lights and some homes. In those times, only the
rich and privileged people could afford the high price of electricity. The
second hydro power plant was built in 1936 AD during Juddha Shumsher’s rule at
Sundarijal. After the end of Rana regime, more power plants were constructed
and more people got the electricity connected to their homes in a cheap price.
That was just the beginning. The third hydro power plant was built in 1965 in
Panauti.
I visited the first hydro power plant of
Nepal which is known as Pharping Power house built by Chandra Shumsher.
Pharping is about 12 km south of Kathmandu, on the road to Dakshinkali Temple.
The road to Pharping Power house is still earthen road and its bumpy. It was
quite an experience through the road.
When I reached the power house, I was amazed
to see that the power house building was in a good condition. I couldn’t
believe how the old power house survived two massive earthquakes of Nepal in
1934 and 2015.
Inside the power house, there were two sets
of large machines, a turbine and a generator. They generated 500 kilo Watts of
electricity. They were very difficult to understand but my father explained the
functions of the machines. We also got a glimpse of a small mechanical crane
which was used to lift the heavy machines, still functioning. We also examined
the penstock pipe which led the water from the reservoir situated in the
hilltop to the power house. At present, this power house is a museum and it
explained who designed it, how much it costed, etc. I was really amazed to know
how such heavy machinery was transported to Pharping, when there were no roads or
trucks in Kathmandu, and people had to carry them.
The main water reservoir was 566m above the
powerhouse. It was a circular pond of 61m diameter and 5.5m deep. At present,
this reservoir pond serves as a drinking water supply pond, which supplies
water in Lalitpur area. The scenery from this is pond is very good.
On our way back we went to visit an ancient
pond known as Tou-Daha. This pond has now been beautifully renovated. We can
walk around the periphery and also feed many fish. Lastly, we visited the
statue of Manjushree situated at Chovar hill, which is a ten meter high
beautiful stone sculptor, made by Nepalese stone sculptorer.
Dear friends, if you are wondering where to
visit during this winter vacation, you can go to Pharping, Dakshinkali and
Chovar areas with your family. There is a public bus service, if you do not
feel like walking. Enjoy your trip, as we did.
Trip to Bajrabarahi
Trip to Taudaha Lake
