Parched valley denizens protest in Mangalbazar [In Pictures]

KATHMANDU: Locals of the Kathmandu Valley took out a rally in Mangalbazar of Lalitpur on Friday to put pressure on the government to improve drinking water supplies.

The Kathmandu Valley Melamchi Water Struggle Committee organized the rally to exert pressure on the authorities for the supply of Melamchi water to the Kathmandu Valley. Locals participated in the rally carrying empty vessels and chanted slogans against the government. They have demanded that the government divert Melamchi water into the tunnel for distribution in the Kathmandu Valley at the earliest.

The authorities have been closing the 26-kilometer tunnel that brings water from the Melamchi River to the Kathmandu Valley during the monsoon season since the 2001 floods destroyed the headworks of the multi-billion-dollar project. Although they usually resumed water supply by November, there has been no supply from the Melamchi River this year so far. This has caused a chronic shortage of drinking water in the Kathmandu Valley.