“We’ve been paying just the water supply bill without getting water. What a state we’ve got,!” remarks Shova Khadgi of Dhalku, Kathmandu when asked if she gets drinking water. As she has to buy jarred water from the market for home consumption, she says she is very angry against the government that works more for elites and business community rather than for the general public. She admits that she has little knowledge regarding the political changes in Nepal, ranging from the feudal monarchy to democracy and federal republic. However, she adds, “I don’t know why parties can’t work as they promise. I have no political knowledge. But I expect good things to happen at least.”
Khadgi is not the only person suffering from the puzzling question over the scarcity of drinking water. Drinking water officials kept by the state always complain of the population growth and the lack of resources.
Nirmal Kumar Siwakoti, who said he recently shifted to Kathmandu from Jhapa, thinks that the Nepal government is controlled by business forces. He puts his logic, “The Nepal government has ample capacity to supply drinking water to the whole population of the Kathmandu valley. But the government is facilitating markets only for private drinking water companies.” Giving examples, he adds, “Look, there are dozens of private drinking water companies in Kathmandu who sell drinking water to people with the certainty of 100 percent net profit. What is this?”
Perhaps Siwakoti is right to a greater extent. Everywhere in Kathmandu, drinking water is being heavily transacted. Thousands of private and nongovernmental institutions in Kathmandu buy drinking water from private companies; however, water rarely drops from people’s home taps.
Harka Lal Dangol of Bhaktapur, a vegetable producer, accuses government forces of serving private entrepreneurs only. “We have not got a people’s government yet. A people’s government gives the greatest attention to people’s wellbeing,” he believes.
Observing the current situation of Nepal, Sujit Ramtel of Kathmandu raises a question, “Can a country’s government protect its sovereignty and serve its people if it even cannot guarantee a vital thing of life—water?”
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