Kathmandu, December 18:

Employees of the Nepal Drinking Water Corporation today announced protest programmes against the government decision to hand over the management of water supply system in the Kathmandu valley to a British company.

The NDWC Joint Struggle Committee, comprising Nepal Drinking Water Corporation Employees’ Association (NDCEA) and Drinking Water Corporation Employees’ Organisation (DWCEO), has decided that staffers would don black bands on their heads while on duty from 10 am to 1 pm tomorrow, till 2 pm on Wednesday and until 3 pm on Thursday. They would also distribute pamphlets to protest the government decision. On December 22, the employees would organise a sit-in protest in front of the NDWC central office Tripureshwor for one hour beginning 12 noon.

“Further protest plans would be decided after the meeting of JSC on December 22,” Om Adhikary, the general secretary of the NDCEA said while addressing a press conference organised here today. The joint struggle committee has stated that they were forced to begin struggle to save the NDWC.

It has also stated that their protest programme is against the conspiracy to ‘sell’ the essential and service-oriented corporation to contractor.

President of DWCEO Gopi Krishna Khadka said there was a demand of 190 million litres of water per day while the NDWC has been supplying only 80 million litres of water per day.

He said the NDWC was asked to increase the drinking water tariff by 30 per cent and that the valley residents will have to face a 49 per cent hike in water tariff in a few years.

“If only we are allowed to raise the existing water tariff by 49 per cent we can provide far better service than what the multinational company has claimed to provide,” he said.

Adhikary said those who had been removed from the NDWC and have ‘links’ with the Melamchi project are advocating privatisation of the valley’s drinking water project.

It has been demanded that the government establish an authority to control all the water supply throughout the nation.