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Kathmandu Wednesday March 28, 2001 Chaitra 15, 2057.
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Rural areas face potable water
crisis
Post Report
TEHRATHUM, March 27 - Ninety-year-old Ichchha Ram
Dhamala of Thoklung-8 is worried that he is going to die without being able to drink
drinking water.
"I could not get clean drinking water even at
this age. Perhaps I will have to die drinking the dirty water of animal pond," he
said.
This is not the wish of Ichchha Ram alone. He
represents the condition of most of the residents of Thoklung VDC.
They say, "We heard from radio that the World
Water Day and Sanitation Week was observed with great enthusiasm, but there is acute
shortage of water in the rural areas."
There are 616 households and 4,500 people in
Thoklung VDC.
Dhamala says, " Leaders come to them and urge
in sweet tongue to cast votes even to elderly people like us, promising that they would
provide drinking water facility to the VDC. However, after the election is over, they are
never seen again."
Hari Dhakal of Bhagawati secondary school said the
people of this VDC also have the right to avail of the opportunity to drink clean water.
People depend entirely on traditional water sources
like animal ponds, wells and streams to drink water. They have to wait in queue for hours
to fill up their water vessels and pots. They spend the whole morning to fetch a pot of
water. As it is so difficult for women, "there is no other option than to get up at
mid-night and go to fetch water for male members in the family," said Pasang Syangba.
"It takes the whole morning to fetch water
from the small streams. If we want to bathe and wash clothes, we should spend the whole
day and go to the Koya Khola," he added.
Despite every effort of the VDC office, it has not
so far succeeded to construct drinking water project because it has no water sources and
other VDCs do not allow the VDC to tap their water sources.
District Drinking Water Office chief Bishnu Prasad
Timsina says the office is ready to launch a project in Thoklung if they can arrange for
water source. The fund of this office is not sufficient to implement project from long
distance. The possible wards of this VDC will be included in the next year’s
programme. wherever it is feasible, he added.
A local resident, Tula Ram Lamichhane, who had
promised to walk on bare feet until the VDC receives drinking water facility is already
dead, but this VDC is yet to receive pure drinking water.
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