Kathmandu, January 17:

All the government buildings to be constructed in the country from now on will have rainwater harvesting technology.

Addressing the closing session of a two-day national seminar on rainwater promotion programme today, Purna Kadariya, director general at the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), said, “Our department is commited to harvest rainwater in all new government buildings.”

The department is responsible for the construction of all the government buildings. It is going to construct a model of rainwater harvest in its own building.

Nepal Water Supply Corporation has recently constructed a rainwater harvesting building in its Kamaladi branch.

Government officials, policy makers and non-governmental organisations today made a joint commitment to promote rainwater harvesting technology in Nepal in the future.

The participants admitted that the government has not been able to give adequate emphasis on forming a legal provision for making harvesting compulsory in new buildings. They urged the authorities concerned to take steps in this regard.

Today, Ishwari Pokhrel, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Babu Ram Gautam, additional secretary at the Ministry of Local Development and Birendra Man Pradhan of Rainwater Harvesting Section at the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage presented their papers on rainwater harvesting.

Similarly, Naraesh Thapa of DUDBC, Rajiv Joshi of Nepal Water Supply Corporation, Kalanidhi Devkota of Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN), Prakash Amatya of NGO Forum and Santosh Basnet of Nepal Water and Health, also presented their papers, concentrating on their experience in promoting rainwater harvesting.

The workshop was jointly organised by the DUDBC, the NGO Forum, the Municipality Association of Nepal, the Water Aid Nepal and the UN-Habitat.