KATHMANDU: Residents of Tilkeni in Udayapurgadhi Rural Municipality-7 have been facing a severe water shortage for the past five months due to a damaged power line. The disruption occurred after strong winds snapped the electricity supply line connected to the local groundwater boring project.
Social activist Rama Magar stated that the project, which serves 23 households, has been non-functional since the first week of June. Consequently, villagers are forced to walk for hours to collect murky water from a local stream for their daily needs.
Ward Chairman Bhuwan Kepchaki Magar confirmed that the local government had repeatedly requested the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and the rural municipality to repair the line, but no action has been taken. He noted that the ward office lacks the necessary budget for such repairs, leaving residents in a difficult position while waiting for higher authorities to intervene.
Manoj Kumar Jha, chief of the NEA distribution center in Udayapur, attributed the delay to technical issues and the transition period at the start of the new fiscal year. He stated that although the water supply office holds primary responsibility for the project, the NEA has received requests for assistance and will soon dispatch a technical team to conduct repairs.
