Karishma Rokaya of Hima Rural Municipality-2 used to worry about getting drinking water until a year ago. Since there was no nearby water source and the taps built for the entire village only had a small amount of water, she had no choice but to wait for hours.

As soon as she thought about going to the tap, the thought of having to wait in line started bothering her. But now, in her village, there is one house, one tap. Water is flowing in every tap 24 hours a day.

The time that was previously spent on filling water is now spent on other household chores. Water is not only fulfilling the need for drinking, but it has also made it easier for sanitation and gardening. Koireli, which has 44 households, now has access to drinking water. ‘The biggest crisis in the village was drinking water.’ Karishma said. Hima Rural Municipality has informed that water was brought from a long distance for Koireli at a cost of Rs 6.2 million.

Chumkali Rokaya of Bajagad village of Hima Rural Municipality-5 is also excited after water reached her doorstep. She said that many children skipped school to fill water, that they could not cook on time due to lack of water, that they had to ask their neighbors for work when they could not fill water, that they had to wait in line until night due to water worries, and that they wasted hours of time. ‘But now, there is no need to worry because every household has a tap,’ she said.

There were only two to four public taps in Bajagad. After the rapid population growth and destruction of forests, water was not flowing in the taps. Earlier, there were at least one to a maximum of five public taps in the settlements of Himaka. Some taps had stopped flowing at all. In some taps, water was stored in tanks throughout the day and released only for one or two hours in the evening and morning.

Rural Municipality Chairman Laxman Bahadur Shahi informed that a plan was introduced after identifying the villages facing the most water crisis. ‘Earlier, there were more taps that were not flowing than those that were flowing. When I went to the village, I used to feel sad when I saw the picture of consumers facing drinking water problems,' he said, 'Now, I am happy to see taps connected to every house and water coming 24 hours a day.' Saying that Hima has done an excellent job in the drinking water sector, the then Federal Minister for Drinking Water Pradeep Yadav had even visited the village and held a sanitation conference.

Now, Hima has easy access to drinking water in schools, health posts, ward offices and other public places. There are 23 settlements in Hima. In most settlements, one house has one tap. The rural municipality plans to build 400 more taps by the coming Ashar.

Dhanpura Shahi of Bajagadkhola remembers having to drink contaminated river water due to the lack of drinking water. From having to drink contaminated water in Hima Khola for water, she was forced to stand in line for hours at the village's overflowing taps. She would even miss important household chores to fill water. But now she has a tap at home. When water flows in the tap, she forgets the past and rejoices.

In the last three years, more than 1,200 houses in Hima have been getting water through one tap, one house. The work of constructing taps is also continuing in a hurry after identifying the drinking water crisis seen in the settlements of all seven wards within the municipality.

Hima has completed the construction of 14 large-scale drinking water projects at a cost of 45.66 million rupees. 53.546 million rupees were allocated for the construction of these projects. The drinking water taps are being constructed in partnership with the Hima Rural Municipality and the Suswa project.

One house, one tap has been constructed in Badki, Dyargaun, Acharyalihi of Hima 1, Odigaun of Hima 2, Jarji, Simtoli, Khetu, Sana Chiudi, Koireli of Hima 4, Bajagad, Bajagadkhola of Hima 5, Khaldhunga, Dadabada, Bagbazar, Bhuleopata of Hima 6, Mathikudu, Dhachugaun and Marchigaun of Hima 7.

Rural Municipality Chairman Laxman Bahadur Shahi claims that 100 percent of households will have access to clean drinking water in five years. ‘Most households have access to tap water.’ Some households will have access by the coming Ashar,’ he said. He said that Hima is now known as a municipality that does excellent work in the field of drinking water.

Water conference in Hima
On 22 Jestha, Hima Rural Municipality organized a water conference. There was a debate on the identification and conservation of drinking water sources. The conference concluded that water sources are drying up due to rapid population growth, indiscriminate deforestation, and fires.