The Mai Khola is a river in eastern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, the headwater of the

Kankai River The Kankai River (, also referred to as Kankai Mai) is a trans-boundary river flowing through the hills of Ilam and the plains of the Jhapa District in Nepal. It begins at the confluence of the Mai Khola and Deb Mai Khola rivers. The river ...

. Its water is used for irrigation and also powers several

hydroelectric plants Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

Location

The Mai Khola is the main tributary of the Kankai. It is a perennial river that originates in springs in the

Mahabharat Range The Lower Himalayan Range, also called the Lesser Himalayas and Mahabharat Lekh or Himachal, is one of the four parallel sub-ranges of the Himalayas. It has the Great Himalayas to the north and the Sivalik Hills to the south. It extends from th ...

about above sea level. It flows from north to south. Major tributaries include the Jog Mai Khola and the Puwa Khola. At its confluence with the Deb Mai Khola, it takes the name of Kankai Mai River, and when it enters the

Jhapa District Jhapa District (; ) is a district of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi Surjapuri language word "Jhapa", meaning "to cover" (verb). The 2021 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the district at 994,090. The total ar ...

it becomes the

. The catchment area of the Mai Khola upstream from the Kankai Mai River at Chepte is , and lies entirely within the

Ilam District Ilam district () is one of Districts of Province No. 1, 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. It is a Geography of Nepal#The Hill Region, Hill districts of Nepal, district and covers . The 2011 Nepal census, 2011 census counted 290,25 ...

Mai AWP

The Mai Area Water Partnership (AWP) was established after a June 2002 workshop. It is a network of local water-related institutions with the Namsaling Community Development Centre (NCDC), a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, as the host institution. The purpose was to ensure sustainable irrigation development in the Mai River basin, the only basin in Ilam. For the purpose of a pilot project study the Mai River basin was divided into 14 sub-basins, or blocks. The study found that two of these blocks were water-stressed and another two had only just enough water flows to meet the present demand. One of the challenges of the AWP was to encourage the members to work together as a network, rather than use it as a forum to air grievances. However, it was hoped that the AWP would provide a model for similar partnerships in other parts of Nepal.

Hydroelectricity

, seven

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

projects on the Mai Khola were operational and another three were under development. If the 6.2 MW Puwa Khola Hydropower Station is included, the total output of active and under construction plants on the river reaches 86.97 MW. The projects were: The intake to the 6.2 MW Puwa Khola Hydropower Station is on the Puwa River about above the Geya Danda Irrigation System. About of water is diverted to the power station. The diverted water flows along a headrace tunnel and then a penstock pipe to the power station, which discharges it into the left bank of the Mai Khola. This leaves very little irrigation water in the dry season.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT: Rivers of Koshi Province