Hetauda, April 25 With the prolonged dry season, Shikharpani of Hetauda Sub-Metropolis-18 is reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. Locals attribute the shortage of water to failure on the part of Shikharpani Drinking Water Project Consumers’ Committee’s to finish the project on time. Local Bhanu Pratap Bidari said the water project was supposed to be completed within five years, but even after six years,the project is nowhere near completion. Home to more than 400 households, locals of Shikharpani are forced to wait for hours to get drinking water. Chitrepani Community Forest Chairman Surya Bahadur Ghalan said that delay in the construction of the water project with a fund of more than Rs 40 million had hit consumers hard. Drinking water Consumers Committee Chairman Panch Bahadur Thing, however, said that work was delayed because the contractor failed to complete work on time. Thing claimed that they would be able to supply water to everyone’s tap within three months if the contractor started the construction work immediately.