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| Kathmandu Friday March 22, 2002 Chaitra 09, 2058. |
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Water trouble
These days, city dwellers are impelled to
drink and use impure and stinking piped water. The water supply is erratic and irregular.
And on top of that, the water is filthy. The piped water contains smelly substance of all
colours. We don’t know whether to use it or not. For drinking purpose, those who can
afford buy mineral water from private companies. But what about the lower middle class?
And for how long will they have to buy water? This is the condition in spring, and the
worst is yet to come with the onset of summer. Collecting and storing water in Kathmandu
Valley has become an ordeal. It is time-consuming, expensive, and above all, unhygienic.
Just look at the costs involved. We have to invest a lot in water- installing pipes, hand
or electric pumps, digging underground reservoir tank, maintaining equipment etc. And one
should be always ready to buy water from sources other than Nepal Drinking Water and
Sewerage Corporation (NDWSC). And there’s the monthly bill to be paid to NDWSC.
While political leaders, development
practitioners and hydropower experts talk endlessly about Melamchi and Kali Gandaki
projects, Kathmanduites are struggling hard to get a drop of clean water. If the
government cannot provide the daily essentials like water, what more can we expect from
it?
Namrata Wagle
Baneshwor, Kathmandu |
