The adoption of federalism has done little to quell the drinking water crisis in various parts of Makwanpur, contrary to what people had expected. The crisis had gripped not only rural villages but also urban areas. People in many parts of Thaha Municipality in the district still reel under the crisis, having to depend on faraway rivulets and ponds for drinking water.

However, things are going to change now, at least in some parts of the municipality, including Bajrabarahi, Chitlang and Tistung Malagiri, where about 1,100 households will get a running water service by the end of 2019 thanks to a drinking water project initiated by the municipality.

According to municipality officials, those households will have a drinking water tap that will provide running water for at least five hours a day.

“A total of 540 households in Chitlang, which is one of the most water-hit areas, will have drinking water taps installed by mid-December,” Mayor Lavasher Bista told the Post. “People will no longer have to depend on ponds and stone spouts.”

For the drinking water project in Chitlang, Community Centre of Development Nepal (CCDN) contributed financial and technical help to the municipality and Sitapaila Drinking Water Consumers’ Committee, which has been working on the project for about a year. The total cost of the project is Rs25.6 million.

“The water will be extracted from deep bore-wells and stored at overhead tanks constructed nearby before being distributed to the municipality households,” said Hari Magar, chair of the consumers’ committee.

An 18km pipeline has been constructed to supply the water, for which locals donated labour.

“The project has seen massive public support, which is why it has been completed in the targeted time,” said Santosh Dhakal, an engineer with CCDN. The pipe has already been connected to water taps in nearly 250 households.

“The water crisis had worsened after the earthquakes. Now we are excited that we’re finally getting water at home,” said Buddha Ratna Manandhar, a local social worker.

Meanwhile, in Bajrabarahi, Thaha Municipality Ward No. 6, about 543 households will have access to drinking water by January 2020, according to Chitra Bahadur Balami, chair of the consumers’ committee. Here, too, the project is being carried in coordination among the municipality, CCDN and consumers’ committee.

A similar project in Chitre Malagiri is also in its final round. Mayor Bista said all three projects would be completed by January 2020. According to him, the municipality has allocated ten percent of its total budget on drinking water projects. Another large-scale drinking water project is also ongoing in Hetauda, with an investment of Rs160 million. The project is expected to supply 2.5 million litres of water daily.