INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kathmandu, July 28
A national conference on ‘Rainwater Harvesting for Livelihood, Community and Ecosystem Resilience&, concluded today,
adopting a seven-point declaration on utilisation of rainwater.
Rainwater harvesting is accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse,
rather than allowing it to run off
Harvesting of rainwater simply involves the collection of water from surface on which rain falls, and subsequently storing it for later
use.
Normally water is collected from the roofs of buildings and stored in rainwater tanks
With proper planning, rainwater on roads and pavements can be directed towards local ponds and aquifers.
Experts representing 38
organisations from different countries presented 30 research papers at the programme proposing various water harvesting systems
Around 500 people, including local level representatives from Kathmandu valley attended the event.
UNICEF Water Sanitation and Hygiene
office in Kathmandu also stated that if managed properly, Kathmandu valley can harvest around 600 million to one billion litres of rainwater
in a year.
Government record shows that 15 per cent of Kathmandu valley residents use water supplied through water tanks, while estimated 87
per cent of rainwater in the valley is not utilised.
Speaking at the conference, Minister of Water Supply Bina Magar said she would do the
needful to formulate new rules and regulation to effectively implement the recommendations made by the conference
&As we are not able to provide pure drinking water to the people, the recommendations by the conference will be helpful for the ministry,&
she said.
Government record shows that about 12 per cent of country population does not have access to pure water.
Technical advisor of
GUTHI, an organisation that works on water and sanitation sector, Prakash Amatya stressed that the government had to encourage private
sector to introduce latest rainwater harvesting technology in the country.
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