Water woes to remain another 15 years!

Bishnu Prasad Aryal

Kathmandu, April 5

The people of the Kathmandu valley will have to face scarcity of drinking water at least till 2025. If the government plans are not materialised, the shortage may linger to an uncertain period of time.

“If the government plans are materialised by 2025, the drinking water will be sufficiently supplied to valley denizens,” said Krishna Prasad Acharya, joint-secretary and acting spokesperson at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW). “We are planning to supply 680 million litres of water per day (ML/D) by implementing Melamchi, Yangri and Larke drinking water projects by then,” he said. “The existing supply includes in it,” he added.

The MoPPW has planned to complete Melamchi drinking water project by 2013 and Yangri and Larke by 2025. Each of the three projects will supply 170ML/D.

At a time when the Melamchi drinking water project has faced tardy pace to begin, the government is optimistic to translate the plans into action. “If the socio-political obstruction doesn’t arise, the projects will be completed in time,” said Acharya. However, he was sckeptical about not facing any hurdle.

According to the MoPPW, at least 687 million litres of water needs daily to supply demands of about four million people in the valley by 2025. The Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) claims that it has been supplying about 100 million litre everyday through 167,000 taps. “But no water is supplied in my home,” said Ram Chandra Devkota, member-secretary of the Bagmati Development Committee.

Present demand is 203ML/D while it will reach 332ML/D in 2015, 446ML/D in 2020 and 724ML/D in 2025 along with the increasing ratio of people, says a survey prepared by the ministry.

A bid worth Rs 4 billion on Melamchi project was finalised in February 2009 and given to a Chinese construction company, which targeted to complete it in 54 months. Fourteen months have already passed and the project is yet to begin owing to the local protests.

Melamchi River is located at Helambu VDC in Sindhupalchowk district, about 27km away from Kathmandu. The project was conceived in 1985 and widely discussed since 1988. It has been already 10 years since the government started working on the project.

Acharya, who is also head of the Drinking Water Division at the ministry, said that the tunnel digging using excavator has been just started from Sundarijal in Kathmandu. “The setting up of camps at Sindu, Ambasthan and Gyalthum in Sindhipalchowk to dig has been undergoing. The digging of tunnel will begin soon from both directions of three places,” he said. “There is no doubt the well-equipped and high profile Chinese company will be able to complete the project within 40 months,” he affirmed.

Before then, existing water resources will be managed and services will be updated to minimise the shortage, said Acharya. “A recent ADB report reveals that US$ 300 million is necessary to revamp the present water supplying system and replace the old infrastructure for implementing new projects,” he said.