Though NWSC has set up pipeline to cover whole of Biratnagar, only 40 per cent of the population is currently receiving water while the rest have to wait for the completion of seven deep tubewells and three overhead storage tanks.
Biratnagar chief of the NWSC Chandeshwar Sah says that the consumers are facing difficulty due to denial of permission for construction of the deep tubewells in Kanchanbari and Pichra. He said the NWSC head office has been delaying the process of giving permission for the Rs 220 million project despite a written request two years ago.
Currently there are two deep tubewells in Munalpath, three in Tinpaini, two in Devkota Chowk and one in Rani while one overhead storage tanks each in Tinpaini, Devkota Chowk and Rani.
The NWSC currently supplies 90 million liters water through the existing deep tubewells and overhead storage tanks while the daily demand is 150 million liters. Consumers had even padlocked the NWSC office protesting against the shortage of drinking water over the past three years. “The taps give murky water with semisolid impurities due to rust in the 50-year-old pipeline,” complains Yashoda Kuinkel, a consumer. The consumers are also furious that the NWSC imposed a fine of Rs 300 when the meters became dysfunctional.
The NWSC has been collecting around Rs 2-2.5 million in tariff from around 10,000 lines in Biratnagar, which has 60,000 households. As most of the residents don´t use tubewells, mineral water companies are making hay while the water shortage continues.
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