Visitors to Pokhara this week have been disappointed to see that the famous Phewa Lake has receded, leaving a large expanse of mud flats by the shore.
The reason is maintenance of the dam that was built 40 years ago and had started leaking because the rubber seal on its gates had not been repaired since. The municipality has also taken the opportunity of the water level being lowered by 2m to strengthen the foundation.
“We decided to do all the repairs at once before the monsoon and it will mean that the water level will be below normal for another two months or so until the lake fills up again,” said chief engineer of the Department of Irrigation, Kiran Acharya.