Kathmandu, Jul 16 (PTI) An acute water shortage due to scanty rainfall even in monsoon season has prompted Nepal's Madhesh province to deploy fire engines and other vehicles to deliver water to the affected communities on Wednesday.
Eight provincial fire engines of 5,000 litres capacity each are being operated in coordination with the Nepal Army, which has been temporarily assigned responsibility for their operation, along with seven tankers and three forest department vehicles, The Kathmandu Post said.
Traditional water sources are drying up due to prolonged drought conditions, and various districts including Bara and Parsa are among the hardest hit, it said.
Majority of the Madhesh province land is located in the flat Terai region bordering India with the rest of the area in the northern part located in the Shivalik hills.
The Kathmandu Post quoted officials to state that apart from Bara and Parsa districts, residents in other areas too are struggling after hand pumps and tube wells stopped working.
Madhesh Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh deployed eight fire engines stationed in Janakpur, the provincial capital that is situated near the Nepal-India border along the Bihar state.
“The province has not received adequate rainfall for a long time, resulting in a severe drinking water problem,” Singh said. “To mitigate this, we’ve mobilised all eight provincial fire engines, seven additional tankers from the Nepal Army, and three more vehicles from the Forest Office – a total of 18 vehicles are distributing water across settlements.” “The provincial fire engines, each with a capacity of 5,000 litres, are being operated in coordination with the Nepal Army, which has been temporarily assigned responsibility for their operation,” the newspaper said.
Awadhesh Jha, Singh’s press advisor, said the mobilisation was based on a decision made by the Provincial Disaster Management Executive Committee.
“These fire engines will be in operation 24 hours a day in areas suffering from the water crisis,” Jha said.
Jha had discussed additional measures to address the shortage with the federal Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav on Tuesday, the report added.
Earlier on July 5, the department had issued an updated monsoon outlook, forecasting below-average rainfall in the central and eastern parts of Madhesh Province during the period from July to September.
Newsportal Khabarhub quoted Department’s Information Officer Dinakar Kayastha to say that the central and eastern parts of Madhesh Province show a 35 to 45 percent chance of receiving below-average rainfall. PTI NPK NPK NPK