Ironically, people lack access to clean drinking water in Nepal, a land with no freshwater scarcity. Contaminated water and poor hygiene standards lead to a swarm of water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery, to name a few. Lacking access to such necessities to sustain life, people in Nepal have to resort to unhygienic means to source water. As a consequence, diseases originating from contaminated water are rife in Nepal. Of late, there has been an outbreak of diarrhoea in Krishnanagar Municipality in Kapilvastu. And so far, this has led to 885 people being infected and four deaths.

Cholera is a major killer in countries that have poor sanitation facilities and lack access to clean drinking water. All this can be easily avoided with a bit of determination from the authorities that claim to be pouring millions of rupees into providing safe access to water and proper sanitation facilities. Surely, if such were the case, outbreaks would not need to be reported every year. And it is not the authorities' job to be a mouthpiece to report events on deaths from a condition that results clearly from their negligence.

Covid-19 has indeed derailed the fragile health care system, but it is time to rise above and beyond the shadows of Covid-19 to tackle such recurrent health hazards, which is nothing short of a national shame in this day and age. Why do we still need a team from the World Health Organisation to overcome a problem whose indicators are well known to local experts and who can manage the issue? Unable to deal with a constantly recurring problem stinks of ineptitude and negligence on the part of the authorities.

The problem with the authorities in Nepal is their lax attitude towards what they possibly perceive to be a frivolous issue. But in reality, it is nothing less than the effect of the pandemic currently caused by the coronavirus. It has been reported that during the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from its origins in the Ganges delta and six subsequent pandemics have killed millions of people over all continents. The unrestrained spread of water-borne diseases not just impacts health, but has broader economic and social consequences too.

When water is available to people from improved sources, they will spend less time accessing it and use their available time in other productive matters. And children who are particularly at risk from water-related diseases could benefit from improved attendance at schools if provided access to safe drinking water. It may not sound like a lot, but such minor improvements will undoubtedly have positive long-term consequences in their lives. What the authorities need to concentrate on is achieving small gains. The crux of the problem does not just lie in providing clean drinking water. A concerted effort is required to uplift the people from the economic inequalities that plague them. The mantra is simple: Improve the existing infrastructure and raise awareness in dealing with the issue.