- Title: NEPAL-QUAKE/WATER CRISIS Nepalese suffer water shortage after quake
- Date: 4th May 2015
- Summary: KATHMANDU, NEPAL (MAY 02, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI) TRAFFIC ON ROAD MAKESHIFT TENTS ON ROADSIDE WATER TANK OUTSIDE HOUSE WOMAN AND A CHILD OPENING DRY TAPS VARIOUS OF TRUCK CARRYING WATER TANKERS YOUNG BOY SWINGING EMPTY BUCKETS/WORKERS OF A MONASTERY STANDING NEXT TO TRUCK (SOUNDBITE) (English) RELIEF WORKER, ALI, SAYING: "It was already a crisis here in Kathmandu to get water but now because of the earthquake it is very bad. So it is very bad (hard) to get water." PEOPLE SITTING A WOMAN WASHING DISHES CLOSE OF CONTAINERS VARIOUS OF WOMAN WASHING DISHES (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) KATHMANDU RESIDENT, DIVESH, SAYING: "We are relying on water tankers. Earlier the situation wasn't this bad but it took a turn for the worse when the earthquake struck. The tankers are only able to deliver water to those areas where the roads have not been blocked by rubble." GIRL STANDING OUTSIDE A MAKESHIFT TENT WOMAN WASHING CLOTHES WATER TANKER KEPT IN A VEHICLE WOMAN WASHING CLOTHES
- Embargoed: 27th May 2015 10:23
- Keywords:
- Location: Nepal
- Country: Nepal
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA5510LMOQLP6XHH7CGYB9PPOD9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
A week after Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake, measuring 7.9 on Richter scale, residents in capital city Kathmandu are facing an extreme shortage of water.
Water pipelines were badly damaged by the quake, while rubble is also restricting movement of water tankers in many places.
Efforts to step up the pace of delivery of relief material including water were frustrated by a shortage of supply trucks and drivers, many of whom had returned to their villages to help their families.
However, there were problems with water supply in Nepal even before the quake. Although around 80 per cent of the population has access to drinking water, according to the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, it is often polluted.
People in rural areas often have limited access to drinking water with many trudging for hours on foot to fetch water or relying on rivulets.
Relief worker Ali said the quake has made it that much harder to get water.
"It was already a crisis here in Kathmandu to get water but now because of the earthquake it is very bad. So it is very bad (hard) to get water," she said.
Kathmandu resident Divesh says he and other have become reliant on water tankers, but they can't reach everywhere.
"We are relying on water tankers. Earlier the situation wasn't this bad but it took a turn for the worse when the earthquake struck. The tankers are only able to deliver water to those areas where the roads have not been blocked by rubble," he said.
The government said the death toll from last Saturday's earthquake had reached at least 6,655 and that more than 14,000 people were injured.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters early this week the death toll from the quake could reach 10,000, with information on casualties and damage from far-flung villages and towns yet to come in. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
