Winter Field Trip

Trip to Pharping Power House

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