The drinking water sector good governance and infrastructure support project will be launched in Birendranagar with an investment of Rs. 6 billion in partnership with the federal, state and local levels.
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Department of Drinking Water and Sewerage Management, Karnali State Government and Birendranagar Municipality with the objective of supplying drinking water to the Surkhet Valley through water lifting technology of Bheri River.
The MoU has been signed by Director General of the Department of Drinking Water and Sewerage Management Tiresh Prasad Khatri, Acting Secretary to the Karnali State Government Gopal Sharma and Chief of Birendranagar Municipality Dev Kumar Subedi on behalf of the federal government. With the signing of the MoU, the door of project construction is now open. Subedi, the mayor of Birendranagar, claimed that this was the first project to be implemented with the tripartite participation of federalism.
According to him, 80 percent of the project will be funded by the federal government, 20 percent by the state government, Birendranagar municipality and consumer organizations. "The DPR of Bheri Lifting Project has been prepared. Investment in tripartite partnership has also been ensured in the MoU," said Mayor Subedi.
The Ministry of Drinking Water of the federal government has given a grant of Rs. 6 billion to Birendranagar for the construction of the project with the loan assistance of the World Bank. The budget will be spent on lifting Bheri water as well as protection of other water sources in the city, integrated watershed management, improvement of dilapidated projects, strengthening of consumer organizations. The drinking water project is being constructed in Birendranagar by estimating the population that may increase for the next 30 years.
Currently, detailed engineering design and preliminary environmental testing of the project are being studied. Water will be brought from Bheri River to Amritdanda of Surkhet Valley through lift technology. There is a plan to distribute water in the valley through the main line from the reservation tank in Amritdanda.
According to Kulmani Devkota, chairperson of Surkhet Upatyaka Drinking Water and Consumers Association, construction of intake in Bheri river, installation of water treatment system, expansion of reservoir tank, main water transmission line and operation management in the second phase will be taken forward in the first phase. The project should be completed within six years. Drinking water is the main problem in the state capital Birendranagar.
The Surkhet Upatyaka Drinking Water Consumers Association is currently distributing drinking water to 20,000 households through taps. The organization has stated that there is still insufficient drinking water supply to more than 18,000 households. City dwellers have become enthusiastic after the operation of drinking water project has been ensured. Earlier, the federal and state governments had been allocating budget to bring Bheri water in Surkhet Valley but the amount could not be spent.
The MoU states that the state government should form an intergovernmental project steering committee at the state level to facilitate coordination between the federal, state and local levels and consumer organizations and formulate climate-friendly drinking water and sanitation plans.
In addition, the state government will have to set up a water quality monitoring laboratory. In the MoU, the Ministry of Water Supply of the federal government will provide budget management, project monitoring, inspection and necessary instructions.
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