Bhaktapur: The fifth convention of Gundu Drinking Water and Sanitation Consumers Committee started on April 11.

By: Ishwor N. Rijal & Baburam Kharel

Kathmandu: Kathmandu Valley denizens and Tarai people beware! Vector-borne diseases are likely to give the populace a hard time in the absence of serious efforts to keep the diseases at bay. The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) under the Ministry of Health and Population has warned that water-borne diseases will break out in the wake of intermittent summer rains.

By: Tika R Pradhan

Kathmandu: In yet another incident of discrimination against the Dalits in the capital, a staff at the central office of Democratic National Youth Federation beat up a Dalit woman with a pipe for touching water in Kapan. Govinda Dhital (60) of Kapan VDC-1 beat Sunita BK with a pipe, alleging her of touching their drinking water source.

Kathmandu: A team of the Armed Police Force (APF), representatives of local clubs and residents conducted a clean-up campaign at Baisdhara garden of Balaju and its vicinity areas to make preparations for the annual fair taking place there on April 9.

By: Ishwor Kaji Khaiju

Bhaktapur: Ponds located in different places of Bhaktapur have started to dry up with the onset of dry season and long dry-spell. Though it rained last week after an interval of six months, it was not enough for the dried up ponds. There is at least a pond in every ward of the city. All the ponds except Siddhipokhari, Kamalpokhari, Byasipokhari, Kalidaha have dried up.

Kathmandu: Nepal Electricity Authority is supplying electricity for longer than the scheduled eight hours a day, thanks to the heavy showers of the past few days. This, however, does not come as a relief to valley denizens who solely depend on Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) for drinking water supply.

Lalitpur: More than a year ago, a group of European tourists came to visit the Patan Durbar Square, paid entry fees and strolled around. In the middle, one of them had an emergency. He looked around for a toilet, but found none. Then the tourist approached the then mayor of Lalitpur-Sub Metropolitan City (LSMC) and sought his entry fees back, stating that lack of a toilet around the historic square had forced him to urinate in pants.

Kathmandu: Kathmandu Valley citizens will not have facilities of mobile toilets which will be placed at various parts of the Valley soon. Minister of Science and Technology Ganesh Shah introduced the first mobile toilet made by Public Private Partners for Improvement of Local Environment amidst a function organized at Tundikhel.

By: Purna Bika

Tanahun: The youths of Damauli have started to teach method to earn money by collecting used plastics. The youths aged between 18 to 35 affiliated with Rotract Club of Damauli have launched hook campaign in about 1,000 houses of the market area.

Baglung: The drinking water projects started 12 years ago are still incomplete. The Righa Drinking Water Project, started 12 years ago, is incomplete due to financial crisis. Only 32 percent work is completed after spending about Rs. 11 million of the estimated budget of Rs. 34.5 million. 5000 locals of Righa VDC are compelled to walk long distances to fetch water.

By: Tularam Pandey

Kalikot: Those considering throwing their hat into the ring or planning to apply for citizenship certificate or a passport in the district have to produce yet another documentary evidence from now onwards. In a bid to sanitize the district, a meeting of concerned stakeholders in the district recently decided to make it mandatory to produce a document that shows that the applicant has a toilet in his house.

Sindhulimadhi: The Dom community of Sithauli Village Development Committee (VDC) of Sindhuli district have been deprived of using water of a local public well for being ‘Dalits’ for the past two years. The people in the area have alerted four households of Dalits at Dakaha of Ward No. 1 of the VDC against using water from the well.

By: Girija Adhikari

Makwanpur: Toilets in many government offices of Makawanpur stink due to lack of cleanliness. Toilets in District Development Committee, Revenue, District Administration, Hetauda Hospital, Drinking Water and District Police Office are dirty. This has created problems to the visitors and service seekers visiting the offices.

Sankhuwasabha: About 1600 toilets have been constructed in nine Village Development Committees of Sankhawasabha district with support of Rural Reconstruction Organization. District Coordinator of Rural Reconstruction Organization Rudra Bahadur Thapa told that the toilets have been constructed in Syabun, Barhabise, Dhupu, Sittalpati, Bala, Jaljala, Diding, Matsyapokhari and Numa VDCs of the district.

By: Dhurba Dandal

Sindhupalchok: The Melamchi folks have continued obstructions in the proposed intake site of Melamchi diversion tunnel at the time when preparations are ongoing for construction works to complete the project in next four years. The locals of the source area have been creating obstructions at the intake site for the past 10 months demanding to relocate the intake stating that their settlement will be at risk of flood if the intake is constructed at the present site.

Kavre: The Paanchkhal folks who have been agitating for drinking water have cut off the water supply pipeline of Maoist constituent assembly member Tej Bahadur Mijar on April 9. President of Bhamarkot Extensive Drinking Water Struggle Committee Ajay Thin told that the agitated villagers have cut off the pipeline of CA member Mijar as he has neglected to solve the problem of his own village.

Hetauda: The Hetauda municipality has been distributing plastic buckets for managing garbage in the city areas. The Hetauda municipality stated it has already distributed 450 buckets in the shops and hotels at Main Road, Rapti Road and Bus Park. The municipality has aimed to distribute 500 buckets at an investment of Rs. 1,25,000.

Khotang: Residents of Bakshila market of Khotang are reeling under severe water shortage. Secretary of Drinking Water Users’ Committee Roshan Subedi told that the locals are facing drinking water problem as the water source has dried up.

Dhading: Toilets have been constructed in every household of Chepang settlements of Pida VDC. Toilets have been constructed in Gaurigaun, Churikhark and Chyangli of Pida VDC with Support of Nepal Chepang Association.

Siraha: Villages at northern area of the district are reeling under shortage of water. The locals are compelled to depend upon rivulets and lakes after the tube-wells ran dry. Sakina Khatun, a resident of Choharwa market of Chandraayodhyayapur-1 told that the villagers are forced to bring water from Kamal Lake 3 km away.

By: Padam Shrestha

Sindhupalchok: It looks like the Melamchi Project will not be completed in the next five years as committed by the government without direct participation and ensuring the local's foremost right to water. A representative of Hyolmo asks, “what to do if the Melamchi River turns polluted like the Bagmati River after diverting its water to Kathmandu?’ “If all the water here be taken to Kathmandu then the Indrawati River will also dry up with Melamchi, Yangri and Larke,” she added.

Rukum: Students of Gaunbari Primary School at Ghetma VDC are compelled to drink canal water brought for irrigation due to lack of drinking water facility in the school. A teacher of the school Maniram Nepali said, “The students suffer from different diseases like worms, diarrhea and stomach pain due to consuming canal water but we do not have other option.”

Nawalparasi: Parasi market is foul smelling due to lack of proper management of sewerage in the Ramgram municipality. The locals told that the sewerage constructed by the municipality is unscientific and gets clogged easily.

By: Kishor Budathoki

Sankhuwasabha: It has been more than a month when there has been no water supply from the taps in the house of Prem Shrestha, a resident of Khandbari municipality-1. Not only Prem, all the consumers of Khandbari municipality are facing problem of no water supply from the taps.

Parasi: Forty arsenic patients including 10 children have been detected in ward no. 12 of Ramgram municipality. Arsenic-contaminated water has claimed four lives so far. The locals are compelled to drink arsenic-contaminated water due to lack of alternative management of drinking water.

Arghakhanchi: The residents of Kole, Bakhre and Pakhere village of Thada VDC are forced to walk for two and half hours to fetch a gagri (water vessel) of water as there is no any water source or drinking water project operating in the village.

Kavre: Locals of Keraghari, Khawa and Bhamarkot of Paanchkhal VDC staged agitation after they were deprived to use water from the source which they had been using for the past many years. The agitated Paanchkhal folks staged demonstration in front of District Administration Office Kavre for whole day on April 5.

By: Pradip Koirala

Syangja: Waling municipality, centre of Syangja district, is reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. It has been a daily routine of the Waling folks to wake up early and queue up in a water source 1 km away. Every household in the municipality has pipeline connection but there has been no water supply from the taps. Neither the political leaders nor the municipality office has shown concern to the drinking water problem of the locals.

Dailekh: Narayan municipality, district headquarters, is reeling under water shortage after two water sources dried up with the long dry-spell. Locals have to face drinking water problem throughout the year due to poor distribution system.

Nuwakot: Construction works of Gerkhutar drinking water project has been completed. About 40 households of Gerkhutar VDC have been benefited from the project completed with financial support of District Development Committee Nuwakot. In the initiation of then Finance Minister Ramsaran Mahat, the District Development Committee has spent Rs. 0.2 million for constructing the project.

Thousands of people visit Koteshwor Chowk daily. But, the concerned agency has not shown interest to construct a public toilet in such a crowded place. The pedestrians and passers-by are facing problem due to lack of public toilet. The passers-by walking along the road defecate or urinate in public.

It is reported that 40 per cent of the water supply is lost through leakage in the distribution lines. This must be corrected by the use of remote sensing high technology at the earliest. The metropolitan city authorities should also follow a strategy of conservation of every drop of water in the Kathmandu valley by the construction of a dam at the Chovar Gorge and other dams at other sites of the river system.

It was sad and disturbing to read the news report “Discrimination over Caste” (THT, April 8). Sunita B.K. was beaten for touching and using a community water source. It is disturbing that the incident took place in a sub-urban area in the valley and not in a remote rural area.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City office has brought a few mobile public toilets into service. The mobile service toilets are charging Rs. 3 and Rs. 2 per person for defecation and urination respectively. The use of public toilets, including the mobile toilets, should be 100 per cent free.

With the reference to news story, "Mobile toilets boon for city" (April 7, Page 3), it is good to know that one mobile toilet has already been installed at Tundikhel and nine more are on their way. This will indeed be a boon for the city-dwellers, mainly pedestrians.

By: Roma Aryal

Sunita Bujhel wakes up before dawn every other day to join the queue up at the public tap in Satdobato. After waiting all day she (pictured) returns home at around 3.30 PM carrying two jerrycans of water to last her family for the next two days. The recent rainfall that broke the six month drought has provided no relief, and the decrease in power cuts has only made things worse. As soon as the power comes on in the morning, shops and houses that have electric pumps quickly draw up the water, leaving no water for those waiting at the taps. “It’s difficult,” sighs Sunita, “even though we try to save as much as we can.”