BIKRAM RAI
Out of reach of national transmission lines, rural Nepalis have stopped waiting for the government to come to them. They are harnessing small streams and generating their own electricity from micro-hydro plants managed by local cooperatives. More than 2,500 micro-hydro plants are in operation throughout the country supplying 40 MW of electricity to local grids. This winter when the capital suffers 14 hours of power cuts daily, many parts of rural Nepal will be lit up at night. Shyam Nakarmi (above) makes turbines to power small hydropower plants at his workshop in Banepa.