"Since July 17, the locals of the area have been availing themselves of electricity at a nominal rate. This project will be of great help to the locals and will pave the way for nature conservation," Harishchandra Rai, field project operator of the WWF Nepal, said in Kathmandu. "Electricity will enhance living standard of locals, encourage them to take to income –generating activities and reduce use of firewood, thus making the tourist spot more environment- friendly." he said.

The mocro-hydro power project was commissioned at Ghattekhola of Toktok village at Chaurikharkha VDC of Solukhumbu, at the height of 2,700 metres, as a model project. The project was designed with the aim of encouraging 97 households of the Solukhumbu area, highly dependent on firewood, to use electricity for cooking and other purposes.

Source: Himalayan News Service, July 20, 2007