Every year, thousands of Kathmandu Valley residents fall victim to water-borne diseases, ranging from bouts of diarrhoea and dysentery to cholera and typhoid that might lead to eventual death if diagnosed late or left untreated. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded ‘Water Caravan’ initiative aims to forestall just such an eventuality. The programme is jointly being carried out by Guthi, an NGO working in the field of Water and Sanitation, NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation and Nepal Red Cross Society at 10 different places in Kathmandu. This is one of several non-governmental efforts aimed at improving sanitation. It will train locals on modern water purification technologies like SODIS, chlorination, bioSand filter, rainwater harvesting, solid waste management and sewage water treatment.

Shortage in supply of clean water, lack of drainage facilities, intermixing of piped water with sewage are among the major causes of intestinal health hazards each monsoon period. In this connection, the best efforts of Nepal Drinking Water Supply Corporation have fallen woefully short. It remains to be seen how KVWMB and KVDWCL, the private sector bodies now charged with management of drinking water in Kathmandu, fare in this area. However, there is no denying the importance of initiatives — outside the government — directed at shoring up local support for solutions of local problems.