Water supply projects to be constructed in 10 dry areas

KATHMANDU: The government has started constructing big water supply projects in 10 dry areas. Such projects are being constructed in settlements designated as ‘water scarcity areas’ by the government at various times.
The projects to be constructed include the Yasok large-scale pumping water supply project, Panchthar; Agna Mauwa Large-scale pumping water supply project, Panchthar; Halesi area large-scale pumping water supply project, Khotang; Timal large-scale water supply project, Kavrepalanchok and Chaurikhola Dhokadanda large-scale pumping water supply project, Kavrepalanchok.
Such projects are also being constructed at Pakarbas of Ramechhap district, Daraundi of Gorkha district, Tansen of Palpa district, Bijeshwari Chaurajahari of Rukum district and Harre Tunibote of Surkhet district.
Out of these 10 projects, the construction of four – Yasok large-scale water supply project, Pakabas large-scale water supply project, the Ramechhap large-scale water supply project and Timal large-scale water supply project, Kavrepalanchok – had been started four years back.
Chief of the Dry Area Water Supply Project, Ram Chandra Ghimire said that although the construction of the four projects had been started four years back it has not yet completed.
According to him, it took time to complete these four projects as they are large scale projects with an investment of more than Rs 200 million. The government has designated areas without water source within the range of 250 metres vertical distance and two kilometers horizontal distance as the ‘dry area’.
Similarly, the areas in which the inhabitants have less than 10 litres availability of water per day from the traditional water source, which receive less than 1200 millimetres annual rainfall or snowfall in the hilly region and the areas in the Tarai region where the ground water level is more than 50 metres deep are included as ‘dry area’.
Information officer at the Department of Water Supply, Ratna Prasad Lamichhane said that the Project is implemented in areas with a population of 5,000 in the mountainous region, of 10 thousand in the hilly region and of 30 thousand in the Tarai (southern plains) region. Lamichhane said that the government has delegated the authority for the construction of small and medium-scale water supply projects to the province and local levels.
Moreover, the government is constructing deep-boring water supply projects in most places of the Tarai region.