KATHMANDU, March 25: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) allocates Rs. 500,000 every year for repair and sanitation work at the 165 traditional stone water spouts in the city. However, many of them are without a single drop of water.
The stone water spout at Sundhara (which means golden spout) in the heart of the city is one of the renowned and historic ones in Kathmandu but the irony is that water no longer flows there."When I was a child I used to go to the golden spout to drink water but it has now been 15 years since I saw a single drop of water there", said Shyam Maharjan, a 65-year-old Sundhara local. "Without the water the spout is like it is toothless. Its original charm is lost."
Sharmila Baral, 36, of Gyaneshwor said that some 32 families fill their water jars at local Gyandhara stone spout, which still flows round the clock. "I don't have to go anywhere else for water which can be used for drinking without any misgivings," she said. "I am happy to go to the stone spout even though I have to queue for a long time."
Narayan Babu Bhattarai, chief of Heritage and Tourism Department at KMC, said that rapid urbanization and the concrete jungle have resulted in the drying up of the stone spouts. "The increasing population in the city has affected the recharging of ground water and reduced the natural flow in the spouts," he added.
According to a report prepared by KMC, out of the total of 165 stone water spouts in the city, 33 no longer exist, 34 are no longer in working condition, two have been revived by supplying piped water and only 96 are still operational. There were said to be 389 stone water spouts in the Valley as a whole.
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