Taps stay dry in Sunkoshi as national report finds gaps in water access
About 60 households in Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-3 have taps but no regular water, Onlinekhabar reports. A National Statistics Office report released on Friday finds that 62.5 percent of households nationally have improved, safely managed drinking water.
Pipes, tanks and taps do not on their own bring water to a household. That gap shows in a village in Sunkoshi Rural Municipality and in a national report on water and sanitation released this week.
Taps without water in Sunkoshi
About 60 households in Tamling, Sadhanbot, Mainapur and Simpani in Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-3 have taps at home but no regular supply, Onlinekhabar reported. A collection tank was built at Tamling Thumki about four years ago, fed by a source at Tarebhir in ward 4. The rural municipality supplied the budget and pipes, and residents contributed labour.
Local resident Kalyankumar Khulal told Onlinekhabar that the rural municipality provided materials for household taps about a year ago, and residents fitted them themselves. Water still does not reach them regularly. To get it flowing, residents have to walk to the point where the pipes are connected, a trip of two to four hours depending on the route, and the supply often stops again soon after. Another resident, Bhuwan Thakuri, said no one is responsible for connecting the pipes on a regular basis. Families made up only of elderly members find this especially hard.
The rural municipality has set a goal of "one house, one tap". Its chair, Meena Dahal, told Onlinekhabar she knew water had been supplied to the area but did not know the taps there were still dry. Ashish Gajurel, the area's member of the House of Representatives, said he would take steps to resolve the problem and press for action on the matters that need to be addressed at the provincial level.
A national picture
The National Statistics Office (NSO) released its WASH Situation Report 2026 on water supply, sanitation and hygiene at an event in Lalitpur on Friday. The report compares conditions across all 753 local units and the provinces.
According to figures presented at the launch, 62.5 percent of households have access to improved drinking water that is safely managed. Madhav Prasad Adhikari, a joint secretary at the infrastructure development ministry, said that figure showed the need for more investment in local units where conditions are weaker. Chief Statistician Laxmi Basnet said the data would help set priorities for water and sanitation projects. The report recommends that government agencies give priority to areas with weaker WASH conditions and ensure the quality and safety of drinking water as well as its availability, Republica and Deshsanchar reported.
The NSO said the index draws on the 2021 national census and the Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey 2024/25. Field checks in 20 local units found falling groundwater levels, particularly in the Tarai and Madhesh, according to Deputy Chief Statistician Dhundiraj Lamichhane.
Kathmandu's old water vessels
In Kathmandu's inner city, stone water vessels known as "gha" still stand in many old neighbourhoods. Dr Rajanlal Joshi, head of the Central Department of Nepal Bhasa at Tribhuvan University, told Ukera that they date from the founding of Lichhavi-era settlements. He links them to the canals that brought water from Shivapuri to the city. Joshi says he has found 17 of them in his research, and that, like the old royal canals, they are now disappearing.