By: Dev Kumar Sunuwar

Kathmandu: Life was a nightmare for Krishna Pariyar, when he was living in a slum along the banks of the Bishnumati River. Besides the pungent smell from the river he also had to deal with the frequent threats that this hut would bulldoze his hut, the only 'property' he owned.

Kathmandu: Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is preparing for a pre-Melamchi Drinking Water Project. Considering the acute drinking water shortage in the Valley till the completion of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, KUKL is preparing for the project. KUKL stated that there will be additional supply of 75 million litres of water daily in the Kathmandu valley after the completion of the project. The KUKL has aimed to complete the project within next 30 months.

By: Lomus Chapagain

Kathmandu: Tap of Nirmal Aryal of Chabahil has been dry for the past 10 days. "There is acute water shortage," said Aryal who was carrying jar water in his shoulder. He told that he has been fulfilling his daily water needs with expensive jar water. Red coloured water gushed out from the tap of Narayan Siwakoti of Maharajgunj on April 26. Nirmal and Narayan are some representative characters of water stressed consumers of Kathmandu.

By: Pabitra Sunar

Kathmandu: A report of Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) has shown that 21 brands of so-called mineral water packed in bottles and jars for sale in the market are not fit for drinking. The report showed detection of micro-organisms in eleven samples, coliform detected in three samples, high chlorine amount found in three samples and acidity detected in six samples.

Ramechhap: For the residents of Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap, availability of drinking water depends on electricity supply. The Manthali Drinking Water and Sanitation Consumers Committee has been supplying drinking water to Manthali by drawing water from the Tamakoshi River using electric water pumps.

Dhankuta: Amnesty International Nishandeep Group has distributed materials for waste collection to a school with an objective to keep the environment and surroundings of the school area clean.

Palpa: District Drinking Water and Sanitation Division is preparing to construct necessary infrastructures to make five VDCs of the district an open defecation free zones. The Division is going to make Chitungdhara, Pokharathok, Nayarnamtalesh, Baughagumba and Barangdi VDCs an open defecation free zones.

Dadeldhura: Most of the clinics and hospitals in Dadeldhura lack proper management of medical waste. The health workers told that the hospital waste dumped with other household waste can be hazardous to the public health. The government’s health directives has directed to manage waste through sanitary landfill sites and provision of incinerator – waste treatment technology involving combustion of organic materials – to manage medical waste.

Sarlahi: About six VDCs located at northern area of Sarlahi are reeling under water shortage after the water source dried up due to long dry-spell. Residents of Kalinjor, Parwanipur, Pattharkot, Narayankhola, Attrauli and Raniganj are facing acute shortage of drinking water.

Taulihawa: The supply of drinking water in the Kapilvastu Municipality has been disrupted for the last 10 days, as water pumps and panel boards have remained non-functional. Both pumps and panel boards of the Nepal Water Supply Corporation Taulihawa branch have stopped functioning because of electric short-circuit caused by storms and heavy winds.

Sindhulimadhi: The shortage of drinking water has displaced almost all the residents of Chharredanda village of the Belghari Village Development Committee. Chharredanda has now become a ghost town after all the inhabitants of the village have left their homes in search of drinking water. The villagers said that they left the village in search of drinking water after all the four water-wells in the village dried up due to searing summer temperature.

Dolakha: Charikot, the headquarters of Dolakha district, has been facing acute shortage of drinking water. The people living in the district headquarters have been hit by water crisis for long as the supply is not sufficient to meet the growing demands and the faulty distribution system.

Surkhet: Surkhet valley is reeling under water shortage despite completion of the Jhupra Drinking Water and Sanitation Project a year ago. The project has been able to supply only half of the total water demand in the valley. Jhupra Drinking Water and Sanitation Project stated that the daily water demand is 8 million litres but the project has been able to supply only 4 million litres of water daily.

Dang: Inmates in Dang jail are buying water not only for drinking but also for bathing and washing clothes as well. The jail administration in district headquarters Ghorahi supplies water to the inmates and security guards from private tanker operators. There is no water supply to the three taps in the jail.

Kapilvastu: Taulihawa, the district headquarters of Kapilvastu is reeling under acute shortage of drinking water after the Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) Taulihawa branch stopped water supply in the area. The locals are forced to drink arsenic-contaminated water of the hand pumps after the taps ran dry.

Jajarkot: Most of the water sources in Jajarkot district have begun to dry up because of drought. There is dearth of water for drinking purpose as water sources of Ghartigaun of Nayakwada and Suwakot and Syalagaun of Sakla have dried up. The people have to wait for two to three hours for their turn to get one pitcher full of water, said Karma Bahadur Shahi of Suwakot of Sakla-4.

Baglung: Baglung municipality is reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. The Baglung City Drinking Water and Sanitation Consumers Committee has demanded the local administration to cut electricity supply for two hours in the morning to prevent the use of electric pumps for drawing water.

Janakpur: Locals of Janakpur are facing drinking water due to long dry-spell and rise in temperature. Many hand pumps have gone dry in Janakpur. A resident of Jankpur-2 Nabin Singh told that water available from hand pumps has decreased this year compared to the last year.

Jajarkot: Residents of Khalanga, the headquarters of Jajarkot district, are reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. According to locals, draught, deforestation and depletion of water sources were the main causes of water shortage. "We are facing acute shortage of water due to prolonged drought this year," members of Drinking Water Consumers' Committee said.

Dolpa: The staffs of some organizations in Dolpa will have to wash their hands from their job if they do not construct toilet in their house by the end of this fiscal year in mid-July 2009. The meeting of staffs working in Deprox Nepal has decided to request the management not to extend the term of the staffs who do not construct toilet within mid-July.

Lamjung: Residents of Gharedhunga of Ilampokhari-7 are reeling under water shortage after the residents of neighboring ward cut off the pipeline of Gharedhunga Drinking Water Project. About 200 families of ward no.7 of Ilampokhari are compelled to walk for three hours to fetch water from a cesspool after the locals of Ilampokhari-8 cut the water supply pipelines a week ago.

Gaur, Rautahat: Hand pumps and dug-wells in many VDCs of Rautahat have started to dry up due to the long dry-spell. There has been no water supply from the hand pumps in Chandranigahapur, Judibela and Dumariya VDC.

By: Manoj Tiwari

Pokhara: The government of Nepal is launching a drinking water problem in Pokhara to solve drinking water woes in Pokhara. The project has aimed to supply drinking water within a year by bringing water from Madi River. The daily water demand in Pokhara is about 42.5 million litres whereas only 21.5 million litres is available.

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.

Those living in illegal settlements do not get subsidized water; have to purchase water from private suppliers

By: Rahul Chandran

New Delhi: The inability of the poor to pay is the primary reason politicians give against privatization of water supply services. But in India’s capital, it is the poor that sometimes pay more, with government inertia spawning a massive private water supply operation. This is the last in a three-part series on the politics of water in the country.
The sound of water falling into a bucket is the signal for 37-year-old Ramhet and his neighbours to wake up at night and rush to join the queue to collect water.

Saddening Apropos of the news "Baglung town reeling under water shortage" (THT, April 26), these days there is an acute shortage of drinking water. Very little water has come from the mains for a long time now. The few tankers that ferry water are hardly sufficient. The stone spouts and wells in many places have dried up now, so we can see people moving from place to place in order to get a bucketful of water.

Kathmandu: They had gone to Basantapur Durbar Square to enjoy themselves, however Pratiksha Sapkota and friends ended rushing ultimately to Ratnapark in search of a toilet. “This incident not only spoiled our fun time, but also left us rather embarrassed,” shared Sapkota. Kathmanduites have faced a similar problem as the city lacks sufficient number of public toilets.