Kathmandu, Oct 13: A group from Sindhupalchok’s Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality, operating under the banner of the “Gen Z Movement,” has pressured the Bhote Koshi Power Company into giving away 10 percent of its shares in the Bhote Koshi Hydropower Project for free.
Under the name Bhote Koshi Gen-Z Public Investment Public Limited, the local group had halted work at the 45-megawatt Upper Bhote Koshi Hydropower Project for about a month, demanding 10 percent of its shares.
Earlier, in the presence of political party representatives, an agreement had already been reached to allocate 6 percent of the company’s shares to local residents. But during the Gen Z protests on September 8–9, a local faction identifying itself as the Bhote Koshi Gen Z Group shut down the project, demanding 10 percent of the shares free of cost.
The company had agreed to provide 10 percent shares but had refused to give them for free, leading to a month-long shutdown of the project.
On Sunday, the Bhote Koshi Gen Z Group and Bhote Koshi Power Company reached an agreement to hand over the 10 percent shares free of cost.
According to the agreement document, “Bhote Koshi Power Company Pvt Ltd (the second party) has agreed to transfer 10 percent of its shares to a public limited company formed by local residents directly affected by the hydropower project area.” It further states, “The second party agrees to increase the previously promised 6 percent share, as per the 2014 agreement, by an additional 4 percent, making it a total of 10 percent.”
People's News Monitoring Service