KATHMANDU: Minister for Water Supply, Bina Magar, has said to relieve the people of Tarai/Madhesh of the compulsion of using arsenic-contaminated water was the first priority of the ministry.
In her address to queries expressed by lawmakers during the deliberations on several related headings mentioned under the Appropriation Bill, the minister said programs were going on in 21 districts towards that end. She was speaking in today’s session of the National Assembly.
She informed the Upper House that the implementation of remaining works of the first phase of Melamchi Drinking Water Project had been accelerated and the second-phase works were underway.
She urged the House to be sure that the Melamchi water would arrive in Kathmandu Valley. As the minister said, she was hopeful that first-phase works would complete within the scheduled time.
“The government is committed to implementing people’s fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution and the ministry’s policies and programs are focused on ensuring people’s access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities accordingly so as to meet the sustainable development goal related to this by 2030,” the water supply minister said.
She presented data that 88 percent population had presently access to basic water facility and 99 percent to sanitation and to increase the quality of such services, making them reliable was the need ahead.
Repair of earth-quake damaged drinking water and sanitation projects are expected to conclude by a year, rural drinking water and sanitation projects will be implemented with the World Bank’s financial and technical support and big drinking water projects are in the implementation phase in major towns such as Pokhara and Bharatpur.
The minister went on to say that a lift system had been adopted to supply water to dry rural areas in Gorkha, Palpa and Ramechhap districts and disaster-resilience features had been promoted in drinking water and sanitation infrastructure.
Unveiling the government plan of the launching of one household: one toilet program, she assured that all districts would be declared open defecation-free zones in the next fiscal year.
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