Ward chair completes drinking water project in three months

By Amar Raj Naharki,Tanahun, July 22: Krishna Bahadur Adhikari, ward chairman of Bhanu Municipality-13, in Tanahun, has set an example by completing a drinking water project within three months through his willpower and activism.   

Ward chairman Adhikari completed the drinking water supply project within three months by supplying tap water to every household in Pokharichhap village. The locals are now happy after they got rid of the problem of water scarcity. 

They said they now do not have to spend hours to get a pitcher of water after clean drinking water started trickling down from the taps in their homes. 

Construction of the 'Pokharichhap Lifting Water Supply Project'  that began in April this year was completed in three months in June. 

Ward chairman Adhikari has been hailed for solving the drinking water problem of 56 households in the village in a short period of time. 

Mayadevi Thapa, a local, said that they promised to supply water during the election. The plan was realised in a short time and everyone appreciated the work. 

She said that the effort of the ward chairman has ended the compulsion to spend four hours for a pitcher of water.

Gunumaya Gurung, chairman of the Drinking Water Project Consumer Committee, said that after the completion of the project, their compulsion to stand in a queue from 4.00 am every morning for a pot of water has ended.  

Sita Thapa, a 70-year-old resident of the same place,  shed tears when she recalled the hardship she faced to fetch a pitcher of water in the past. 

Thapa said that the supply of water has also ended the compulsion of locals to pay  Rs. 50 for a bucket of water whenever they were unable to carry water themselves.

Ward chairman Adhikari informed that Bhanu Municipality and the ward office spent Rs. 1 million each to build the project while 20 per cent of the construction cost was borne by locals by contributing volunteer labour. 

According to the ward office, a water tank has been built on the ward office premises and water has been distributed by lifting it 500 meters up by electricity. 

Ward chairman Adhikari said, "During the election, I had made a commitment to providing water, and I had started the plan by giving priority to it. I am happy now that the project has been completed within three months."

He said that the Samiri lifting water project, which is stuck in lack of budget, would also be completed during his tenure.  

He further said that the budget of the ward would not be sufficient to complete the project, so they were seeking a budget from the state and province governments.