Aiming to sensitize political parties on water and sanitation issues, WaterAid Nepal, together with Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Nepal (FEDWASUN), carried out an interactive session with political leaders here on Monday. [break]
Central working committee member of Nepali Congress Nabindra Raj Joshi said that all political leaders had one voice on ensuring water and sanitation as the constitutional rights in the last Constituent Assembly. He urged the political parties to make it the political agenda in the next CA election as well.
Likewise, former Environment Minister Ganesh Sah, Kasturi Pradhananga of Sashakti Nepal Party, Jitendra Singh of Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party and Bishnu Raj Aryal, leader of Nepal Communist Party, Marxist-Leninist were among other to express political commitment.
An information toolkit was also launched during the program that highlights the current status of Open Defecation Free areas in the country, including the future strategy to ensure the water and sanitation to the public.
While the government has set 2017 as the deadline for meeting the universal target for access to basic sanitation by all the citizens of Nepal, the present achievement rate has been sluggish.
Though all 75 districts need to be declared as ODF in four years, only 915 VDCs among the total 3915 have become ODF till now, which is only 24 percent of the total VDCs.
Likewise, only eight municipalities of the total 58 have been declared ODF. It is 14 percent of the total municipalities in the country. Similarly, only nine districts: Kaski, Chitwan, Tanahu, Myagdi , Pyuthan, Parbat, Accham, Kalikot,and Makwanpur, have achieved ODF target till now, which is 12 percent of the total districts.
The ODF movement started in Nepal in 2006. The national census 2011, current situation of the drinking water and sanitation a long way from the government set target. As many as 82.7 percent total household is under drinking water coverage. However, only 47.78 percent households are receiving safe drinking water supply from tap whereas 35 percent households using water from tube well and hand pumps. The sanitation coverage is still low as only 61 percent households have toilet though the government has to meet 100 percent toilet coverage by 2017.
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