People living in Kudu of Bheri Municipality-13 in Jajarkot district have been compelled to drink contaminated water from the Bheri river.

A spring water source, about 30 minutes away from the village, is the only place where the village of 800-odd households can get clean drinking water. But it takes hours for one person to get hold of just a bucket full of water from the spring that is close to drying up.

The Bheri river is where most families in Kudu get their drinking water these days. “We drink the river water and use it for other household purposes,” said Jayakala Basnet, a local woman. Fetching water from the Bheri river requires Jayakala and other villagers to take an hour’s hike daily. Still, it is the quickest way to collect water. “The water level at the spring is also decreasing these days. Very soon the entire village would have to rely on the Bheri river for their daily water needs ,” said Biswa Giri, another local.

The villagers have long been demanding the local authorities for a drinking water facility at their village, but to no avail.

“During the last local level elections, the leaders had promised to build a drinking water facility and install a tap for every household in the village. Those leaders have disappeared after the elections,” said Niraj Acharya, a local man.

Mahesh Mahato, the chief of District Drinking Water and Sanitation Sub Division Office, said that a Rs 50 million project has been approved to supply drinking water in Kudu. “We have completed a survey design to supply water from a source that is eight kilometres away from the village,” he said.