Article 35 (4) of the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 explicitly states that every citizen shall have an access to clean drinking water and sanitation. However, this constitutional right is far from reach for a majority of the people in the city. A majority of people in the city do not have access to adequate amount of water let alone the idea of clean drinking water and sanitation. The laws advocating basic needs of the people remains only in paper.
It is no more an unknown fact that the Melamchi project calling for the snail-paced installation of pipelines has been one of the key factors impeding the access to clean water for the people. Although water pipes have been installed in some of the areas, water is not yet accessible.
As per the Information Officer at Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), Suresh Prasad Acharya, a huge gap between water supply of KUKL and demand of the increasing demographics is what we have lately been dealing with. “The Melamchi Drinking Water Project is soon to be completed this year which will expectedly meet all its anticipated goals,” adds Acharya.
Report and Reality: Melamchi environment plan only on paper
The authorities have their say on the issue while on the occasion of World Water Day 2018, My City’s Sonam Lama talked to members of the public about the shortage of water supply in the city.
Subhash Nepali, 22
Bauddha
In my locality, we only get access to drinking water twice a week. A few years ago, the facility of drinking water was available at every alternative day. But the situation worsened since the installation of Melamchi pipeline. The water only runs for 2-3 hours in the morning which is not possible for everyone to keep their storage. The water that we store is not enough to sustain for more than three days. The acute shortage of water has been affecting our daily lives. With an increasing demand of jar water at most of the houses, I have started delivering jar water and have been earning my living from that, for the past three years.
Dolma Kumari Sherpa, 34
Mahankal
The available roads have been dug in a disorganized manner probing the construction of water supply systems from Melamchi but it has caused immense chaos, not only in my locality but also the whole region. Currently, we are compelled to buy water from water tanks in a regular manner and spend a substantial amount of sum for our daily consumption. I hope the government could regulate the observed plans as soon as possible making the policies work smoothly and alleviating the prevalent scarcity of water supply in the long run.
Devi Prasad Bhusal, 45
Tinkune
We have only been getting an hour of access to drinking water once a week. It’s been four years since the people at our community have been facing such problem and the saddening fact is that we have been paying extra for water to run our daily lives. Moreover having run a restaurant of my own at Tinkune, we have to make sure that we have enough water for it to run smoothly. This has occurred difficulty for my family to wake up at around 3-4 in the morning to store water as much as we can.
Preeti Karki, 26
Nakhipot
We are compelled to rely upon wells for water facilities since there is no running water supply scheme at my locality. Earlier, the water from well used to be sufficient but now since there is widespread shortage of water, most of the households are dependent upon well for water and have begun to dig individual well for most of the households, the availability of water seems to be reducing day by day and we have begun to face more crisis of water facilities. I hope the concerned authority would pay due attention to the issue and thus manage a provision of water supply system as per the WHO standard as it would also encourage social hygiene and sanitation.
Mhendo Tamang, 26
Dhobighat
The people in my locality do not have an access to clean drinking water which has encroached their fundamental rights. We get the water from main supply only once a week which is clearly insufficient and thus has affected our livelihoods adversely. The frequent use of water from tanks or the jar has been causing unnecessary financial burden to us. We as civil citizens of this nation expect that the government pays proper attention towards fulfilling the basic rights of its citizen through systematic approach.
Laxmi Rana Magar, 56
Balkhu
We have been fully depending on jar water for daily consumption. Before the drinking water supplied by government used to make one day a week but we are now told that due to the pipes being installed, our taps will run dry for a few more months until the project is completed. It has been two months that our taps are running dry. But that has not made much difference as the water supplied by the government was inadequate and while my expense outweighs my income, it is getting frustrating that we have been suffering much to fulfill our basic needs.
