Dharan locals volunteer to solve drinking water problem

By Nisha Rai,Dharan, Apr. 28: Locals of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City have volunteered to bring water from the Kokaha River to solve the problem of dire water shortage in the city.

Dharan people face an extreme shortage of drinking water during the dry season. The main agenda of Mayor Harka Raj Rai is to provide drinking water to the city and locals are supporting him by volunteering.

Mayor Rai has been working to bring water from various small and big rivers to solve the problem. Saturday has been declared a volunteering day, and locals work along with Mayor Rai.

The water from the Pakuwa, Nisane, Bhalu and Sardukhardu rivers is stored in tanks during the rainy season to use during the dry season. By making short-term arrangements during the summer, the sub-metropolis has saved Rs. 1 million in electricity bills to be paid by the Drinking Water Board.

At present, a 5-inch pipe is being stretched through hills and cliffs via the border of Barahakshetra Municipality to bring water from the Kokaha River in Dharan-20. 

The distance from Kokaha to Dharan is around 30 kilometres. 

Mayor Rai’s personal secretary Sudarshan Limbu said that if the water could be pumped into Dharan, more than half of the drinking water problem would be solved. At least 100 to 200 people participate as volunteers every Saturday.  

According to Dutta Kumar Limbu, Mayor Rai’s Manager for the Water Supply Project, about Rs. 9.5 million in cash and other logistic assistance have been received so far for the campaign. Financial support is coming from home and abroad for the drinking water campaign, he added.

Currently, the demand for water in Dharan is around 30 million litres per day, said Engineer Raju Pokharel, Director of Dharan Water Supply Management Board. 

Now there is a supply of 16 million litres of underground water every day and four million litres of surface water during winter, so there is still a short of 10 million litres per day.