A micro hydropower project under construction in Solukhumbhu district's Lukla Bajar will save forests in Sagarmatha National Park. The 100 kW micro hydro plant was built on the Chaurikharka stream in partnership with the Rural Energy Development Program (RNDP). The Buffer Zone Council and the park chipped in Rs 1 million and RNDP contributed Rs 1.3 million. Local people volunteered labour for construction. Surya Bahadur Pandey of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation said, "This is an example of how national park authority and the local people can work together." Local people are happy the hydroelectric project will help them conserve rhododendron trees. "Now deforestation will stop," said the Buffer Zone Council's vice chairman Dawafunti Sherpa. "Without electricity people don't need to cut trees for fuel." The project will benefit 150 families in and around Lukla and boost tourism.