Blast at India-aided hydroelectricity plant in Nepal ahead of Modi's visit

A bomb exploded on Sunday at the office of a hydroelectricity project being developed with Indian assistance in eastern Nepal, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said.

The compound wall of the 900 Megawatts (Mw) Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Khandbari-9, Tumlingtar, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu, was damaged in the explosion, said Siva Raj Joshi, Chief District Officer of the Sankhuwasabha district.

The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.

The blast comes at a time when preparations are going on for laying foundation stone of the project by Modi during his official visit to Nepal on May 11.

No one was injured in the blast and an investigation has been launched, he said. The wall on the south side is slightly damaged due to the bomb explosion, Police Inspector Bed Prasad Gautam said.

However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added.

A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on November 25, 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi.

This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.

On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises.