Kathmandu:

We’ve heard of parents unwilling to give their daughter’s hand in marriage to some wastrel, but have you heard of a father refusing to marry off his daughter because the prospective son-in-law comes from a place known for its acute water scarcity?

This is exactly what the father in Jalpari does. This film, produced by the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, explores the problems of water scarcity and the easy solution that is there for us to take. Jalpari, which premiered at the Jai Nepal on September 16, starring Nepal’s most celebrated comedians, Madan Krishna and Hari Bansha Acharya, who have directed it as well, focuses on rainwater harvesting and waste-water management technology.

To observe the year 2005 as the Year of Rainwater, Jalpari is part of the Fourm’s effort at improving the Valley’s water crisis. Purna Das Shrestha, joint secretary of Ministry of Physical Planning and Construction, and journalist Bhairab Risal, jointly inaugurated the show by switching on the model of rainwater harvesting technology. According to the Forum’s press statement, rainwater harvesting has already been included in the national drinking water policy. And Shrestha said, “The ministry is considering on making this technology of collecting rainwater obligatory for all new buildings being built.”

As a solution to scarcity of water in the Kathmandu Valley, NGO Forum wants to introduce rainwater harvesting technology to the general public. In this method, rainwater from the rooftop is collected in two separate tanks — for one for collecting dirty water and another for clean water with the help of pipelines. There is no extra cost involved in opting for this kind of technology, except some extra pipelines.

Many newly built houses have provision to collect roof water, but that usually goes down the drain. The film was been produced in association with UN Habitat, Water Aid Nepal, and International Water and Sanitation Centre. Jalpari is going to be aired on Nepal Television on September 17 at 8:40 pm.

So, if you have water problems at your place, watch Jalpari to ease your water scarcity problems. And even if you don’t have such a problem in your locality, do not miss it because it is full of entertainment like other informative MAHA productions— Lalpurja (about dual ownership of land), Chiranjibi (about tuberculosis), Raat about HIV/AIDS and another on leprosy. An informative film for the television, Jalpari delights and amuses the audience while at the same time teaching us how to harvest water.