Going by Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL)´s own data, Valley denizens require 320 million liters of water every day. However, KUKL, which on 14 February, 2008 undertook the main responsibility of equitably distributing water, manages to supply only up to 90 million liters a day in the dry season. [break]
Even in the rainy season, the supply of water by KUKL does not exceed 170 million liters a day. With shortage of water in the Valley taking such a severe form, a million-dollar question arises: how will KUKL, or the government, be able to quench the thirst of each and every Valley dweller in future?
"The Melamchi project is the only answer to this question," Suresh Acharya, spokesperson of KUKL, told myrepublica.com. "Unless we succeed in completing this project, we will continue to face a dearth of water. We cannot do away with the acute water crisis once and for all by repairing ruptured pipelines and sinking more tube-wells. It will of course upgrade the system to an extent; but that will not suffice at all."
The Melamchi project, undertaken by the government with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other donors, is to channel water straight from the Melamchi River in Sindhupalchowk district through a 26 km canal to Kathmandu.
The government and Valley denizens alike have pinned high hopes on the project. The project´s completion deadline has been pushed back several years owing to problems at the local level. Various local groups, apparently provoked by some NGOs, have pressed scores of demands, a majority of which seem quite implausible.
But will the Melamchi project really quench the thirst of Valley denizens, as repeatedly assured by KUKL officials?
"No," says Prakash Amatya, who leads NGO Forum, a network of various non-government organizations working in the water and sanitation sectors.
"This is what we have been trying to assert all these years. If we compare the growing daily demand of the Valley and the amount of water Melamchi is designed to fetch, we can easily understand that ourselves," explains Amatya.
Horrific truth
A meticulous look at figures regarding the daily demand of the Valley, KUKL´s supply capacity and its likely contribution patently unravels a horrific truth: the much-hyped multi-million dollar Melamchi project is not enough to quench the thirst of Valley folks.
In the first place, the project is likely to miss its revised deadline of 2013. Even if the project comes into operation by 2013, chances of which get slimmer by the day thanks to disruptions created by various local groups, the water demand of the Valley will have outgrown the sum total of water supplied by the project and existing sources.
Let alone future years, the Melamchi project cannot fulfill the need of Valley dwellers even if it gets completed right away. Put simply, Melamchi is designed to contribute 170 million liters of water a day in its first phase, which, if completed within this year, will boost KUKL´s supply capacity to 260 million liters a day.
Compare this to the existing demand. This year, the Valley´s demand is 320 million liters every day. But with the Valley´s population growth rate of six percent a year, the daily water demand will surpass KUKL´s capacity by 2013.
Dhruba Prasad Shrestha, chairman of the KULK Board of Directors who also concedes that Melamchi will not suffice to fulfil the Valley´s need, says, "It will, however, provide some relief."
According to Shrestha, who has led the Melamchi project in the past, all three phases of the project, which together will supply 510 million liters a day, could end the problem for the next 25 years.
But, given the repeated postponement of the deadline for the first phase, which was initially fixed for 2005, the completion of the second and third phases remains a far cry. "The second and third phases need at least four years each for completion," he says.
Inequitable supply
One of the few pledges KUKL made as it took over Nepal Water Supply Corporation´s responsibilities in the Valley two years ago was to effect equitable distribution of the scarce water. But KUKL seems to have failed in this.
According to Amatya of NGO Forum, while ordinary folks are compelled to get up at midnight to fill up just a few vessels, scores of factories and industrial establishments have been getting abundant water by bribing the valve operators.
"The money industries and factories pay to valve operators, who regulate water distribution, reaches KUKL´s top brass also," Amatya claims.
According to Amatya, a dairy factory in Lalitpur has been paying Rs 25,000 a month to valve operators at KUKL to get sufficient water. It´s just the tip of the iceberg, he said. Many other industrial outfits have opted for the same modus operandi.
Likewise, influential leaders use their political clout to make KUKL officials supply them ample water. "In areas inhabited by VIPs, KUKL supplies abundant water at the cost of others from whose taps water trickles down only once a week," Amatya says.
According to KUKL spokesperson Acharya, the system loses 20 percent of water to leakages. More worrisome is that industries, factories and influential leaders extract more water by using their money or political clout, affecting KUKL´s overall revenue collection.
"If KUKL controls this leakage, technically known as unaccounted-for water, the people at large will surely get more water," Amatya argues.
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