The right to Safe Drinking Water is a constitutional right. Article 35, Sub-Article 4 of Nepal, states that ‘every citizen shall have the right to access to clean drinking water and sanitation. This fundamental right has been limited to the texts of the Constitution.
Tatopani Rural Municiplaity-1, Baniraka, Jumla hasn’t had access to drinking water for decades. Resident, Meen Bahadur Shahi, says that there has been no drinking water in the village for five decades.
“Our ancestors drank water from the river, we also drank it,” said Meen Bahadur. Our daily life has not changed. However, the locals are excited about the recent Dhauligad project, even though it is little.
The residents of Bainiraka, have constantly assured the ward chairperson and federal parliamentarian. However, their demands were never delivered.
Due to the lack of drinking water in the village, about 120 households in Bainira village are forced to drink contaminated water from the river. Bachan Shahi, another local, said that the people’s representatives have only used them as a vote bank in the name of delivering water. One hundred and 20 households in Kankasundari Rural Municipality-7 Deyarpata are also suffering from a severe shortage of drinking water.
According to Anup Shrestha, Head of the Water, Irrigation, and Energy Development Office, Jumla, the citizens of Baniraka are transporting water from the Tila River through elevators. The water is not drinkable – it has not been lab tested. Locals have not even demanded lab tests. Although there is no demand, we have planned to conduct lab tests soon,” he said. “After the problem of drinking water, the river water was brought to the village through a lift using solar energy.”
According to Dipendra Bhatt, head of the Federal Water Supply and Sewerage Management Project, Jumla, the large Dhauligad water supply project will be completed in 2025, if the necessary budget is ensured if the construction is not obstructed. The budget of the project is 1 billion 26 million 8 hundred thousand 490 rupees.
The beneficiary of the project is 44,163 individuals of 8,695 households in 10 wards of Chandannath, 3 of Guthichour, and 6 of Tatopani. We have prepared a detailed study report (DPR) for the construction of a large drinking water project in Tila, Hima, Sinja, and Kanakasundari rural municipalities. Efforts are being made to ensure the budget for the construction of the project, said Bhatt.
