Urgency Required
KATHMANDU Valley, with a population almost touching the 1.6 million mark and the growth
rate is 4.9 per cent, needs at least 200 million litres of drinking water a day. But the
government owned drinking water supply agency is being only able to distribute only 120
million litres which is far below the actual demand of the valley. A workshop, to focus on
potential water supplies, water demands and the factors affecting these, was organised the
other day, in Kathmandu, by the Optimising Water Use in Kathmandu Valley Project (OWUKV).
The potential for optimising drinking water supply is possible but the lacklustre way of
the water supply body is one of the factors responsible for the plight of the Kathmandu
valley residents. Water connections are given without taking into account the ability to
meet the demand. It is short as well as long term projects that are necessary to meet the
water demand of the people. Working on an ad hoc basis leads no where. When the dry season
is here, there is a lot of hue and cry with a lot of taps going dry. With the coming of
the rainy season a part of the problem is solved but not all. And water from Melamchi to
come will take, at least, another six years. It is a long time to wait. Till then
seriousness has to emerge to mitigate the problem.
Speaking on the occasion, member of the National
Planning Commission Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel said that it is the concerned agencies
and the consumers who should make suggestions and on its basis the government can
implement programmes in the long run. This may be a valid argument as far as streamlining
drinking water supply in the valley is concerned. First of all, the water sources have to
be identified and conserved as well. Some works regarding this has been undertaken but it
is still not enough. Another major problem is the leakage. With age-old water supply pipes
in many areas, water leakage is very high. To change them all will require huge investment
which is very difficult seeing the difficult situation that the country is going through.
In this regard, it may be worthwhile mentioning that the use of underground water has
increased dramatically and experts point that the water level is going down. This means
that grave problems will arise in the near future. All these means that urgent steps ought
to be taken not only to conserve water but also be able to supply adequate drinking water
to the residents of Kathmandu Valley, many of whom are paying heavily even without a
trickle from their taps.
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