Tanahun, March 4:

Byas municipality recorded a profit of Rs 18,629,743 from water supply during the past eight years. It spent Rs 7,950,153 on improvement in water supply system during the same period, the office said.

The municipality manages two water supply systems to provide drinking water to the residents of Damauli. The first water supply project was built nearly 35 years ago at the cost of Rs 1,140,000. This project constructed a water tank of 200 m in diameter and laid pipelines measuring a total length of 4,860 metres to take the water to the doorsteps of Damauli folks. The second project, which utilises a water tank of 500 m in diameter, was built at the cost of Rs 13,779,000 some 16 years ago to meet the additional demand for water. According to the office, among the 1,902 taps fitted in the municipal areas, 36 are public taps. Meanwhile, as the water supply project designed for 10,160 people in Damauli in 2000 AD became insufficient to a growing population, alternative sources of water are being searched to meet the demand. Currently, there is a demand for 2.5 million litres of water a day in Damauli but the supply is just around 1.5 million litres, said an official of the municipality.

According to technicians, underground water has also been extracted as a provisional solution to the growing demand for water. The municipality is coordinating with various stakeholders to identify the new sources for permanent solution, the official said. Meanwhile, Byas municipality today held an extensive talk programme with stakeholders concerned on the water crisis in the City areas of Damauli. At least 2,000 consumers from Ward No. 2, 10 and 11 of Byas municipality participated in the programme.