Kathmandu, April 28

Though the dry season is at its peak, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited said it was supplying 1.5 crore litres more water than the previous years due to easy availability of water from natural and underground sources.

According to KUKL, it collected and distributed only nine crore litres of water during the same period last year. KUKL said water collection from deep tube wells was interrupted this year due to the end of load-shedding.

“Since there is no load-shedding in the Valley, we have not been facing difficulty collecting and distributing water,” Water Supply Division Chief at KUKL Ramesh Man Pradhan told The Himalayan Times, adding, “Similarly, pre-monsoon rain has also helped replenish water sources this year.”

Although the KUKL is supplying 1.5 crore litres more water, Valley denizens are being supplied water at intervals of nine days, five days and four days. The demand for water in Kathmandu Valley has exceeded 400 million litres per day but due to limited resources KUKL supplies less than 25 per cent of the demand during the dry season every year.

KUKL informed that the gap between demand and supply would be bridged once the Melamchi Water Supply Project is completed. It claimed it would then supply water to consumers on a daily basis.

“As per the general calculation, Melamchi water will be able to regularly supply water to consumers for three to four hours. This will give a huge respite to Valley residents,” Pradhan said. KUKL depends on surface water for 65 per cent of its supply. It also has 78 deep tube wells to collect underground water. Private tankers supply 30,000,000 litres of water to Valley residents every day.

As Melamchi tunnel excavation is being carried out at a snail’s pace, it may further delay water supply from the project by at least three months. With the third deadline for project completion fast approaching, MWSDB is struggling to complete its task on time. The third deadline for completion of the project is expiring on October 2017.