National 7 (Spotlight Weekly)

Feasible Alternative

While people impatiently wait for the Melamchi Water Project to complete, ground water can be one of the alternatives to provide relief to them for the time being

By THAKUR AMGAI

The problem of drinking water has reached to an extreme stage. If the situation prolongs, the scarcity of water will wreck a big havoc in the city.

At a time when the city is drying up, scientists at the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST) have developed a technology to purify ground water making it drinkable. The technology is easily affordable to all and easy to install. This technology was developed a month ago and is useful for a family - one time installment cost is around Rs 20,000.

Thus, ground water could become an alternative source of water for the residents of Kathmandu. Although presently, many people are using the boring pump to extract ground water, they use it only for secondary purposes and not drinking. Unprocessed ground water of Kathmandu valley is not fit for drinking, because it contains inedible minerals and other chemicals.

Most people do not even use it for bathrooms, as the water spoils the tiles and tubs. “I prefer not to use the underground water even for cleaning bathrooms. It leaves irremovable stains on tiles and basins,” said Rita Shrestha of Sanepa.

However the water, with some chemical processing can be used for washing, cleaning activities and if processed properly even for cooking and drinking.

There are some places in Kathmandu where ground water is drinkable even when unprocessed. “We drink and use for cooking the water from tube well even without filtering. It neither gives bad smell nor leaves stains. We have not suffered from any water-borne diseases either,” said Mithi Maya Subedi, who has been running a canteen inside the Janak Educational Materials Center (JEMC) premises at Sanothimi, Bhaktapur.

One of the clients at the canteen, claims that the ground water there was even better than mineral water (distilled water). Similarly, a laundry man in Lainchaur says, “We use the ground water for cooking and cleaning.”

However, in most of the places in the city, the groundwater is of poor quality. While at some places it is tolerable for secondary purposes, at others it is not even good enough for that. The water leaves yellow stains in clothes, bodies and even bathroom tiles and the cemented floor. But, for gardening and irrigation purposes, ground water is the best source.

Some people have been using the ground water by purifying it through the permutit process. They use the processed water for cleaning purposes. The water processed by this process is not fit for drinking.

Although ground water can be a good solution to mitigate the problem of drinking water, its impact on environment could be disastrous. As more and more water is drawn from the ground, the level of water inside the ground shrinks.

“Because of excessive boring of water, the water level inside the ground is decreasing. The fall in the water level might cause a calamity in Kathmandu sometime,” said a geologist at Tri-Chandra College.

This shrinking water table is not easily replenished. Metal roads and concrete infrastructure cover most of the surface through which the water would sip in.

The fall in ground water level causes imbalance to the land above. The underground water below supports the ground above it. Geologists claim that since Kathmandu falls in an earthquake prone zone, the harm caused by tremors could magnify in case the underground water level is low.

Rotary Gives Scholarship

Rotary Club of Lalitpur has announced scholarship to two girl children throughout their schooling. The Club will provide them scholarship as a part of their program to support economically deprived girl children for their education from the year 2004. The Club has already founded a “Rotary Club of Lalitpur (RCL) Scholarship Endowment Fund.”

For the purpose of enriching the Endowment fund the Club is organizing a musical program with support from legendary Sur Sudha group, on May 7 at Hotel Radisson, Lazimpat. The musical group is also featuring Anil Shahi, a famous guitarist. Sur Sudha has already performed more than 2000 shows in dozens of countries. It is famous for its fusion melodies of classical music with Folk tunes of Nepal.

The Club has carried out a number of projects together with other partners. Micro-hydro power projects in Humla was accomplished together with Nepal Trust and a club partner in England. It has also established a polyclinic hospital in Ilam. It also provides vocational trainings like computer literacy and tailoring to single mothers in Kavresthali, Kathmandu.

The club particularly focuses on improving the lifestyle and educational standards of women. As the statistics shows, only 64.4 percent (out of total girls of school going age) of girl children attend the primary school and their enrollment in secondary level is only 25.5 percent. Nearly 50 percent of girls get married between the age of 15-20 years. Around 43 percent of them bear two children during that age period.