Once again, the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) has revealed its financial bankruptcy stating that it has no money to carry out its development activities. KUKL has blamed huge sum of tariff dues, a large part of which is from government bodies and influential customers, for its financial crisis. The long outstanding water tariff dues to be collected by the KUKL has already crossed Rs. 1 billion 200 million. The KUKL itself admits that it has failed to improve its service level due to financial crunch. But just by blaming financial crisis for no improvement works, the KUKL cannot run away from its duties and responsibilities. It needs to work seriously to improve its financial status.

 

It has been seen that nearly half of the KUKL’s income is spent for salaries and benefits of its 1200 staffs. The company needs to be economic in its expenditures balancing the capital and current expenses. In order to collect the unpaid tariff dues, the company should be proactive to bring improvement in its service level winning the trust of its non-paying customers. A campaign of metering the connections, rescheduling its water supply for reliable and equitable distribution and relief package in dry zones are some immediate activities to win the hearts of its customers.