All Gulmidarbar locals have access to drinking water

BY TOPLAL ARYAL,Resunga (Gulmi), Dec. 25: Eighty-year-old Chhabilal Rajali of Balithum in Gulmidarbar Rural Municipality-1, was overjoyed after drinking water finally reached the tap in his courtyard. Rajali recalls spending one and a half to two hours to fetch water from streams and rivulets in the past. Although water from Resunga had reached the village in 1981, the supply later stopped, and residents frequently faced acute drinking water shortages, especially during the dry season.

At present, water is supplied twice a day to the settlement. With drinking water now reaching household courtyards through a solar lift system, Rajali and other locals shared that their happiness knows no bounds.

The Rah Khola Debisthan Solar Lift Drinking Water Project was completed at a cost of Rs. 19.75 million with financial support from the Lumbini Province government, the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, the Rural Technology Centre, the rural municipality, and local labour contributions. The project has directly benefited 327 households.

The project was inaugurated by Lumbini Province Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Dhanendra Karki.

 Gulmidarbar Rural Municipality Chairman Saroj Thapa said that with financial support from seven different agencies, drinking water has now reached most households in Balithum.

According to data, more than 57,000 households in Gulmi district now have access to drinking water. Based on a report by the District Coordination Committee, all households in Resunga Municipality and Chhatrakot Rural Municipality have access to drinking water facilities. Drinking water services have reached 9,015 households in Resunga Municipality and 5,397 households in Chhatrakot Rural Municipality.

In Musikot Municipality, out of 7,099 households, 5,527 have access to drinking water services, while 1,572 households are still deprived of safe drinking wtaer. Similarly, in Chandrakot Rural Municipality, 4,980 out of 5,049 households have access to drinking water.

In Madane Rural Municipality, drinking water has reached only 3,667 out of 5,253 households, leaving 1,586 households without access. In Satyawati Rural Municipality, 3,652 out of 5,169 households have access to drinking water, while at 2,957 out of 3,557 households in Kaligandaki Rural Municipality and 3,987 out of 5,099 households in Isma Rural Municipality have now access to safe drinking water.

Likewise, drinking water facilities have reached 4,945 of 5,382 households in Dhurkot Rural Municipality, 4,554 of 5,241 households in Malika Rural Municipality, and 3,675 out of 4,227 households in Rurukshetra Rural Municipality. In Gulmidarbar Rural Municipality itself, 5,130 out of 5,253 households now have access to drinking water.

According to District Coordination Committee Gulmi branch officer Srijana Mishra, despite the progress, 8,507 households across the district are still without access to drinking water facilities.