NEPAL ENVIRONMENT WATER WELL ESSAY

NEPAL ENVIRONMENT WATER WELL ESSAY 

Nepalese laborer Rishi Dev Yadav, aged 28, digging a well for a water source in Kathmandu, Nepal. Kathmandu has a growing population of about one million in the total municipal area of 50.67 sq km, according to the 2010 census. With the ever increasing population in the valley, People have been facing an acute water crisis in recent years. 

Climate change is as much a reason for water shortage and decreasing water level in the ground and river as the growing population is. The only alternative source of water for the inhabitants has been wells and stone taps which have been fulfilling the water needs of the people in communities of Kathmandu. Built more than 100 years ago, these water taps are still very much in use in Nepal. But urbanization and haphazard construction of buildings have disconnected the source of water from the stone taps. Today, most of these wells which used to supply everyone and currently are the only source of water for parts of the population are not functioning correctly. 

The Nepal government plans to launch the Melmchi water supply project by 2015 that aims to relief the acute water crisis in the capital. The project is supported by the World Bank and the Japanese development project JAICA. Yet at the present the wells seem to be the only alternative source of water for almost all the households in Kathmandu. 

Rishi Dev Yadav, a migrant worker from Inarwa district in eastern Nepal had to leave his wife and two sons behind in search for work opportunities. The last three years he has been digging wells in the capital of Kathmandu. Rishi receives a wage of 2,500 Nepalese rupees (35 USD) for each well which is hardly enough to survive. According to Rishi, he is sometimes required to go underground at depths of more than 50 feet (about 15 m) to get to the water which may result in accidents. According to the news report, more than 12 labors dies while digging well and cleaning.