The Manthali Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Committee (MDWSSC) pays Rs 135,000 a month to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for power used to pump the water to almost 600 households in the district headquarters. Still, the committee has not been able to meet the demand.

“As we are responsible for supplying water, we are compelled to use any means necessary,” said MDWSSC Manager Jagdish Subedi.

According to Subedi, water brought from three different sources meets the demand only during the rainy season and they have no alternative other than pumping water from the river in other seasons.

Meanwhile, like the district headquarters, 24 VDCs, including Chisapani, Bhatauli, Pakarbas, Bhipani, Bhaluwajor, Manthali, Ramechhap, Sukajor and Gelu, in the district are also facing the same problem. Most of these VDCs pump water from the river.

For instance, a drinking water project in Chisapani uses pumps at three locations to supply water in the village. While the normal electricity tariff does not exceed Rs 80 a month, local resident Sandesh Shrestha said they were compelled to pay four times the same amount for drinking water. Locals said though the government has provided electricity at subsidised rate for irrigation, it is not the same for drinking water.

According to Pradip Adhikari of the NEA branch in Manthali, the electricity tariff in case of irrigation is determined according to its usage but a minimum fee has to be paid for pumping drinking water. The MDWSSC pays Rs 8,000 per month as minimum tariff regardless of the water pumps’ usage. Adhikari said the minimum tariff is fixed as per the capacity of transformers.