With regular downpours in the valley, the water from drain pipes has been overflowing affecting vehicles and pedestrians. [break]
“During dry seasons, there is little water in the valley. As a result, for almost half year, the wastes are deposited on the pipes. But when the monsoon comes, there is water blockade due to the very depositions. As a result, water overflows on the streets,” Roshan Shakya, Civil Engineer of Kathmandu Metropolitan said.
Sanjay Raj Upadhyay, Division Chief of Road and Transportaion at Kathmandu Metropolitan points out three major causes that have been affecting the drainage system.
“The first problem is that in comparison to rainfall, there is no proper outflow of water. As a result, the water comes on the road. The second problem is of capacity. Our drainage systems are designed keeping in mind the average rainfall. As a result, when there is high rainfall, the water level exceeds its capacity and water floats on the roads,” Upadhyay said.
He said that the current drainage system is based on demand level of a certain area.
“The rain water cannot seep into the ground due to lack of adequate surface area. As a result, the water is stored on the roads,” Suresh Acharya, Speaker of Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) said.
He further explained that in order to solve the crisis, all the drainage system needs to be reconstructed. “It requires around one billion rupees. For that, we either need government support or aid from donor agencies.”
Since KUKL, Kathmandu metropolitan and local development offices are looking at drainage system, Acharya said that it is high time that only one should look after it.
“AS KUKL, since its establishment has been looking after it, the other two should well be merged into it so as to ease the work,” he said.
Pre cleaning before the expected downpours can prevent rainwater from flooding the streets. However, the pipes are rarely cleaned. “Once in every six months, or once a year, we clean the main hole,” Shakya said. “For smaller clean ups, we have deployed cleaners in wards. If the ward forwards the problem, we look after it,” he added. Annually the government allocates a budget of five million rupees for the maintenance of roads and sewage system, Shakya said.
Data provided by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology´s daily precipitation shows that in past week, Kathmandu has experienced heavy rainfall, the highest being on Monday with 362.2 millimeters.
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