Chitwan, August 27

Bharatpur metropolis has been hit by acute shortage of drinking water.

Dislodgement of water supply pipes during road and drainage construction has been the biggest hurdle for distribution of drinking water. Lack of coordination among government agencies has also caused problems in the expansion of roads and construction of drainage structure.

Bharatpur drinking water board Chief Prajapati Dahal said dislodgement and breakdown of pipes that occurred mostly during construction, maintenance works had invited problems in drinking water supply.

“The lockdown enforced to contain the coronavirus has further aggravated the problem,” he said, adding, “There are limited human resources who look after the maintenance problems in the water supply system.”

“It is impossible for employees from far away to come to the office due to the lockdown restrictions. So, we are relying on limited staffers,” Dahal said.

“The board has prioritised the areas with broken pipes and disrupted water supply system,” he said. “At least four to five complaints related to water supply are being lodged daily. Obviously, it is impossible to carry out necessary maintenance in such a hard time.”

There are 16 plumbers under the Bharatpur and Krishnapur stations of the drinking water board.

Among them, only seven are mobilised in the field.

Water supply pipes have broken due to repair of most roads under Bharatpur metropolis and urban development mechanisms.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 28, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.