Head. Lahan Municipality has intensified a campaign to install drinking water taps in every household targeting the landless and impoverished families. The municipality has forwarded the process to install water taps for additional 55 squatter families today.

With the installation of tap water in their houses, the landless families will be freed from the compulsion to carry water in pitchers from far away. The campaign is being carried out under the ‘Beacon Project’ run by Lahan Municipality, Nepal Water Supply Corporation Lahan Branch and Dalit Janakalyan Youth Club Lahan with the financial support of Water Aid Nepal.

At a programme held here today, Mayor Mahesh Prasad Chaudhary handed over the necessary documents of the families to the Drinking Water Corporation. He said that most of the houses in the district would be connected with water taps before Dashain.

A total of 55 households in wards 1, 7, 10, 17 and 24 will be benefited this time, including 54 landless squatters and one landless squatter in ward no 1, 7, 10, 17 and 24. “Last year, we had planned to provide drinking water to 400 poor and landless families. So far, taps have been installed in 181 houses”, Mayor Chaudhary said, adding, “The recent outbreak of cholera in Birgunj shows that pure water must reach every house.” According to him, tap taps were installed in 300 households last year alone.

Lahan-24 Ward Chairman Rashlal Raya said that tap water has become a reliable source of water in the area as wells and handkuls have dried up. Expressing happiness over the expedited work of the Water Supply Corporation, he said, “Now the compulsion of standing in queues at wells and waiting for their turn is coming to an end.” The hassle of bringing water from far away has been removed. ’

Saying the project is not limited to taping, ward chair Raya said that awareness campaign on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene has also been launched in the community.

According to Lattu Yadav, distribution chief of Nepal Drinking Water Corporation, Lahan, 6,221 households have been connected to the water taps so far. He said that the cost of installing water taps would be Rs 6,390 for families having land ownership certificates and Rs 10,110 for those without land ownership certificates.

The grant is being provided by Lahan Municipality and the project. “The municipality provides Rs 3,720 while the project provides Rs 3,270 for the installation of water taps,” he said. Some ward offices have also provided additional support to this end,” Yadav said.

Stating that around 20,000 Dalit squatters live in Lahan Municipality, he said most of them do not have land ownership certificates. The campaign is expected to significantly improve their health, sanitation and quality of life.