DRY TAPS AND EMPTY BUCKETS
F i or Kathmanduites water scarcity isn't a problem -it is a part of life. Standng in long queues to get a bucket of water has becomes a daily chore. The citizens of the so-called second richest country in water resources are learning the value of water in the toughest way possible.
Unfulfilled demand Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), the sole drinking water distributor of Kathmandu Valley, is unable to meet the water demand. According to the report published by KUKL for 2008-09, the demand in Kathmandu is for 320 million litres water per day (MLD), but KUKL is able to supply only 68.8 MLD in the dry season and 118.4 MLD during the rainy season.“The demand is increasing but we have limited resources,“ informed Tilak Mohan Bhandari, Acting Manager at KUKL. “The problem won't be solved unless Melamchi comes,“ he added.
However, KUKL has planned a pre-Melamchi project -a temporary solution that will add 50 MLD water to the Valley -until the completion of Melamchi Project. KUKL has estimated that the project will come into operation in the next 2.5 years if everything goes as planned.
Much-hyped Melamchi The much-hyped Melamchi project, which had been designed in 1990 with a completion target in 2000, has reached nowhere even after two decades. “Every year they (government) freeze the budget of Melamchi project as the budget has not been utilised,“ claimed Prakash Amatya, President of NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation.
Bharat KC, Deputy Executive Director of Melamchi Water Supply Project, however, claims that the first phase of the project will be completed by 2013 if they get a chance to work without any hiccups.
“Nothing had been done before but now we have started digging a tunnel from Sindhu to Sundarijal,“ informed KC.
The Melamchi project is expected to fulfil the water demand of 170 MLD.
“Melamchi will not solve the whole problem, but it will at least provide some relief to the people of Kathmandu from acute water shortage,“ added KC.
Future consequences Drinking water in Kathmandu comes from the Bagmati river system as well as from groundwater. Pipelines that supply water are very old and the KUKL data states that 20 per cent of water supplied goes to waste due to leakage. The authorities blame technology and finance as major constraints for proper functioning. But activists claim it as a lack of political will to resolve the crisis.
Amatya stated, “The government bodies lack coordination among themselves and there is also the absence of political will. If the worsening situation of water crisis is ignored, water conflict will soon begin in our country“, he said anticipating the potential risks of existing water scarcity.
Possible hope Amidst all this the government is organising a weeklong Nepal National Water Week (March 1723, coinciding with the World Water Day on March 22) in coordination with different organisations.
“It is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of water quality and risks associated with water scarcity,“ opined Dr Ravi Sharma Aryal, spokesperson e of the Nepal National Water Week Organising Committee d and also the Joint Secretary of Water and Energy Commission Secretariat.
“We hope our effort will make general people aware and sensitise the political leaders to take necessary efforts to solve this problem,“ added Dr Aryal.
However, no one is sure when the water crisis of Kathmandu will actually get solved. WATER WOES WATER trickles from the tap once in five days and it hardly fills two buckets. If there was no tube well in our neighbour's house, we would have no water at all. I also don't trust the quality of the water supplied as the pipelines of drinking water and sewage are together. WE have been facing water shortage for more than 15 years but the problem hasn't been solved yet. We use tap water for cooking, while for other needs we depend on underground water. We also have a special reservoir to store tap water. If it hadn't been for this, we would have to roam in search of water. THERE is neither a fixed day nor a fixed time as to when KUKL supplies water through taps. We keep waiting and sometimes we don't get water for a whole month. Much of our time is spent struggling to get water. SOMETIMES we get water from the tap at midnight while there are days when it comes in the afternoon, but the amount of water supplied through the tap is never sufficient. So we fetch two pots of water twice a week from the tanker. We also buy water from our landlord who has a big reservoir where they store tanker water. THOUGH authorities say that they supply tap water three days a week, sometimes we don't get water for a whole week. The amount of water we receive is not sufficient for anything and we are forced to buy drinking water.We have been facing this acute shortage of water for almost two years now.
F i or Kathmanduites water scarcity isn't a problem -it is a part of life. Standng in long queues to get a bucket of water has becomes a daily chore. The citizens of the so-called second richest country in water resources are learning the value of water in the toughest way possible.
Unfulfilled demand Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), the sole drinking water distributor of Kathmandu Valley, is unable to meet the water demand. According to the report published by KUKL for 2008-09, the demand in Kathmandu is for 320 million litres water per day (MLD), but KUKL is able to supply only 68.8 MLD in the dry season and 118.4 MLD during the rainy season.“The demand is increasing but we have limited resources,“ informed Tilak Mohan Bhandari, Acting Manager at KUKL. “The problem won't be solved unless Melamchi comes,“ he added.
However, KUKL has planned a pre-Melamchi project -a temporary solution that will add 50 MLD water to the Valley -until the completion of Melamchi Project. KUKL has estimated that the project will come into operation in the next 2.5 years if everything goes as planned.
Much-hyped Melamchi The much-hyped Melamchi project, which had been designed in 1990 with a completion target in 2000, has reached nowhere even after two decades. “Every year they (government) freeze the budget of Melamchi project as the budget has not been utilised,“ claimed Prakash Amatya, President of NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation.
Bharat KC, Deputy Executive Director of Melamchi Water Supply Project, however, claims that the first phase of the project will be completed by 2013 if they get a chance to work without any hiccups.
“Nothing had been done before but now we have started digging a tunnel from Sindhu to Sundarijal,“ informed KC.
The Melamchi project is expected to fulfil the water demand of 170 MLD.
“Melamchi will not solve the whole problem, but it will at least provide some relief to the people of Kathmandu from acute water shortage,“ added KC.
Future consequences Drinking water in Kathmandu comes from the Bagmati river system as well as from groundwater. Pipelines that supply water are very old and the KUKL data states that 20 per cent of water supplied goes to waste due to leakage. The authorities blame technology and finance as major constraints for proper functioning. But activists claim it as a lack of political will to resolve the crisis.
Amatya stated, “The government bodies lack coordination among themselves and there is also the absence of political will. If the worsening situation of water crisis is ignored, water conflict will soon begin in our country“, he said anticipating the potential risks of existing water scarcity.
Possible hope Amidst all this the government is organising a weeklong Nepal National Water Week (March 1723, coinciding with the World Water Day on March 22) in coordination with different organisations.
“It is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of water quality and risks associated with water scarcity,“ opined Dr Ravi Sharma Aryal, spokesperson e of the Nepal National Water Week Organising Committee d and also the Joint Secretary of Water and Energy Commission Secretariat.
“We hope our effort will make general people aware and sensitise the political leaders to take necessary efforts to solve this problem,“ added Dr Aryal.
However, no one is sure when the water crisis of Kathmandu will actually get solved. WATER WOES WATER trickles from the tap once in five days and it hardly fills two buckets. If there was no tube well in our neighbour's house, we would have no water at all. I also don't trust the quality of the water supplied as the pipelines of drinking water and sewage are together. WE have been facing water shortage for more than 15 years but the problem hasn't been solved yet. We use tap water for cooking, while for other needs we depend on underground water. We also have a special reservoir to store tap water. If it hadn't been for this, we would have to roam in search of water. THERE is neither a fixed day nor a fixed time as to when KUKL supplies water through taps. We keep waiting and sometimes we don't get water for a whole month. Much of our time is spent struggling to get water. SOMETIMES we get water from the tap at midnight while there are days when it comes in the afternoon, but the amount of water supplied through the tap is never sufficient. So we fetch two pots of water twice a week from the tanker. We also buy water from our landlord who has a big reservoir where they store tanker water. THOUGH authorities say that they supply tap water three days a week, sometimes we don't get water for a whole week. The amount of water we receive is not sufficient for anything and we are forced to buy drinking water.We have been facing this acute shortage of water for almost two years now.
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