Every day, for the last 62 years, Tulsa Basnet, 76, from Leptung, Ward No. 6, Kalinchowk Rural Municipality of Dolakha has been walking long distances on foot for several hours just to fetch drinking water. Married at the age of 16 in the remote village of Kolbari, Basnet has been reeling under the water woes of Kalinchowk Rural Municipality since entering the nuptial relationship.
But recently, all those years of hapless struggle for drinking water have come to an end. With the installation of taps in every household in the Rural Municipality under the ‘One House One Tap Programme’, Basnet no longer has to worry about braving long distances and carrying gallons of water.
“Now every household has drinking water taps. Not only for drinking purposes, but tap water can also be used for irrigating vegetable and fruit farms as well as cleaning purposes,” added Basnet.
“With the flow of tap water in the house, it has become easier to clean the toilets and raise livestock,” she said.
According to local Goma Basnet, children had to skip school just to fetch drinking water. “Elders couldn’t walk the long distance so children carried some of their burden by filling buckets of water and bringing them back home. But now they can go to study easily,” she explained.
Community Development Forum Nepal Dolakha, in partnership with Water Aid Nepal, constructed taps in 125 households in Leptung, Ward No. 6.
The project has been completed at a cost of Rs 9.1 million with 70 per cent donation from the Water Aid and 30 per cent from Kalinchowk Rural Municipality.
Eight thousand litre tanks have been constructed in Okhreni, 5,000 litres in Kolbari, 3,000 litres in Patitol and 4,000 litres in Adhikari tole.
Drinking water has been brought from Soti Khola in Suire of Ward No. 6 via 7,690 metres of pipeline laid underground.
Upon completion, ownership of the project has been handed over to the local Soti Nagathan Consumer Committee.
Meanwhile Prakash Chandra Bhattarai from Damauli reports: “One house, one drinking water tap” campaign in Ghiring Rural Municipality, in Tanahun district, is nearing completion.
Adviser to the municipality Suman Kumar Shrestha informed that drinking water connections were being set up in all households that do not have access to drinking water facilities in the area.
The campaign was started in coordination with governmental and non-governmental organisations, Gandaki Province government, federal government’s local infrastructure development program and Western Nepal Drinking Water Project.
Shrestha said drinking water facilities had already been installed at 1,700 houses in the municipality and that the construction work is in the final stage in the remaining 450 houses.
The construction of the facility has now reached most of the settlements in all five wards of the municipality. Chairman of the municipality Ran Bahadur Rana said construction work is in full swing and a drinking water facility will be provided to all households.
Chairman Rana said that the campaign was his election time commitment and would be completed soon. “My another commitment, “One house, one electricity meter campaign” has already been completed,” he added.
As drinking water is one of the most important basic needs of the people, so providing drinking water has been given priority, he said.
Source : TRN,
