Gaighat, June 2

Locals at Katari Bazar have been reeling under acute crisis of drinking water after water sources went dry in Katari Municipality, Udayapur.

Drinking water used to be supplied by Katari Drinking Water Project at Sinkaule, which is 10 kilometres away from Katari Bazar.

As many as 2,850 households in the bazaar area have been facing water crisis for the last one month. “The could fetch water from spouts in Sinkaule earlier, but even they have gone dry,” said Prajawal Danuwar, a local.

The water from Sinkaule was stored in a tank and distributed to the locals. Consumers Committee said the project did not have the capacity to distribute adequate water to all the households in the area. The locals are compelled to drink polluted water of the Tawa and Maruwa river.

Another local Krishna Khadka said although everyone had installed taps, there was no water. Ward No 4 chair Krishna Bahadur Danuwar said the water shortage was even more severe in the bazaar area. “The project has supplied no water for the past one month,” he added.

Mayor Gyanendra Shrestha said that third small urban drinking water project was being constructed with the financial aid of Asian Development Bank, Municipal Development Fund and consumers’ investment. “Drinking water crisis will come to an end after completion of the project,” he assured.