Drinking water project, using solar power lifting system, has benefited 30 families from Dhami and Bohara clans living in Baddi Jyawan in Bajhang district.

People from these families said they suffered for long because of water scarcity. In the past, the villagers walked for at least one hour to fetch a vessel of water.

Local resident Nanda Bohara said, “Our days have gone by fetching water from miles away. We were compelled to walk for seven to eight times up and down the hill while carrying water.”

Baddi Jyawan in Bungal-6 is a one of the remote villages in Bajhang district.The Rural Water Resource Management Project in Bungal Municipality is a boon to the villagers because it solves their acute water shortage problem.

Bungal Municipality constructed the Baddi Jyawan Solar Lifting Drinking Water Project with the joint effort of local residents. The total construction cost of the project is around Rs 2.9 million.

This is the first project that made use of solar power to lift water through water pumps in Bajhang.The municipality’s water resource technician Shiva Bahadur Bista said that people are encouraged to lift water in their village after they observed a similar water project in Mahadevsthan in Baitadi district.

Municipality Engineer Nirajan Shrestha said the project could last for more than two decades if consumers maintain it properly.

“Solar lifting drinking water projects are an effective solution to water problems in geographically remote locations,” he said.

Baddi Jyawan Drinking Water and Sanitation Consumers Committee Chairman Kalyan Dhami said the community is very happy after water taps were installed in every home. People said their struggle to fetch water is over now. Some of the residents have received technical training on project maintenance, said Dhami.