The water of Jhumsa is being washed away in Butwal within a year

Since 2052, the government had put forward a plan to bring water from the Sisne river of Dobhan in Tinau Rural Municipality of Palpa to solve the drinking water problem of the people of Butwal. According to the institute, the project has been affected for a long time due to the dispute in the estuary, lack of budget, road expansion, and covid. Residents of Butwal now do not get water in winter and are forced to use the murky water that comes from the stream during the rainy season.

According to Butwal Water Supply Institute, now 35 million liters of drinking water is required in Butwal daily. However, the supply is not even 25 million liters per day. There is severe shortage of drinking water in Sukkhanagar, Deepnagar, Laxminagar, Ramnagar, Belbas and other areas of Butwal.

Drinking water company has been distributing water by drawing it from Tinau river and purifying it. It brings cloudy water in rains. More than 17,000 drinking water pipes have been distributed in Butwal. About 1,000 streams are added every year. In Butwal, where the population density is increasing due to rapid urbanization, the demand for drinking water is also increasing. One and a half dozen borings kept for solving the problem are also drying up as the underground water level is decreasing. Initially, the project was prepared to bring 700,000 liters of water daily from Sisne river in Dobhan, Palpa. The project started in 064/065 and sometimes progressed and sometimes stalled with the change of government. Although the pipe was laid for 12 years, the same spring could not meet the needs of Butwal, so three years ago, the spring itself was changed to be brought from another place.

The Tinau-3 project in Jhumsa, which has been moved after leaving Sisne river, has also been moved forward after analyzing the population density that may increase in the next 15 years in Butwal. Mohandatta Bhatt, Head of Water Supply Institute, Butwal, said that the work of laying 13 and a half kilometers of pipe to bring drinking water from Jhumsa to Butwal is 94 percent complete and preparations are being made to start the work of the broken trust bridge.

"Currently, 2.5 lakh liters of drinking water is being supplied to Butwal daily," he said, "within one year, 3.5 lakh liters of water will arrive in Butwal daily as per the demand". So far, more than 150 million has been spent on the project.

He said that even though pipeline work is being done, the time of the project is being extended due to the compulsion to divert the river, construction of dam and delay in construction of pipeline. According to the project, water will be brought from the dam to Ramphedi in Butwal through 10 and 20 inch pipes.

In Butwal sub-metropolitan city with 19 wards and 2 lakh permanent population, 25 million liters of water is supplied per head. "When the project is completed, 320,000 liters of water will be supplied to Butwal daily," said project chief Bhatt, "We are trying to complete the project by next February." In the

project, construction structures including dams will cost 73.64 million rupees, water treatment, storage and distribution system will cost 5.61 billion 1.7 million rupees and 6.35 million 35 million rupees, said project chief Bhatt. About 8 km downstream will be the main transmission pipeline to Ramphedi in Butwal. There are three truss bridges under it. One of the truss bridges has been broken, causing some delay in the work. The bridge built on the Jhumsa river to lay the pipe has been re-designed and the bridge that was suddenly broken three months ago has been moved forward.

Another water treatment plant is being constructed at Ramphedi in Butwal. There, many works of storage tanks, construction of overhead tanks in urban areas and laying of pipes have been completed. According to the project, water will be distributed through 10 to 3 inch pipes in all wards of Butwal after the water distribution plant, purification plant and reservoir are ready. Jhumsa's water supply will be distributed in Ward 1 to 11 and Ward 13 of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, Khelraj Pandey said.