BIRATNAGAR, June 29: Construction of a drinking water project worth Rs 2.54 billion in Biratnagar has started with the assistance of the Japanese government. Minister for Water Supply Rajendra Kumar Rai laid the foundation stone of the project in Biratnagar on Friday. The project aims to improve the quality of drinking water in Biratnagar. 

Addressing the function, Minister Rai said the government aims to provide clean drinking water to all the people of the country. Minister Rai stressed the need for all the three levels of government to focus on one house, one tap campaign brought by the government. Stating that many parts of the country still have to carry water on the back, he claimed that the government would soon end the situation of carrying water on the back. 

"With the successful implementation of the programs brought by the government, the situation of carrying water on the back will soon end," said Minister Rai.

On the occasion, Deputy Mayor of Biratnagar Metropolitan City Shilpa Nirala Karki said that more than 100,000 people would benefit from the drinking water project in Biratnagar. She urged the Japanese government for more assistance as this alone would not solve Biratnagar's drinking water problem. She made it clear that Biratnagar Metropolitan City would provide all kinds of support for the completion of the project.

Deputy Mayor Karki said that the residents of Biratnagar have not been able to drink clean water due to 30-year-old drinking water structures and pipelines. Karki said, "With the launch of the new project, the metropolitan city is confident that the long-standing problem of drinking water in Biratnagar will be solved." 

Secretary at the Ministry of Drinking Water, Suresh Acharya, said that the drinking water improvement project is being brought into operation as per the plan to improve the existing structures under the Drinking Water Corporation in Biratnagar and to add overhead water tanks, pipelines and filters. He also urged Biratnagar metropolitan city and local residents to help complete the project on time.

On the occasion, Japanese Embassy representative Takahiro Tamura shared that the Japanese government was constructing the project as grant assistance to provide clean drinking water to the people of Biratnagar. The water supply project, which was inaugurated on Friday, is targeted to be completed by 2026.

 
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