Haven’t we heard it all before? New infrastructure is proposed and the given timeline seems very rosy and optimistic. Everything, it seems, will be up-and-running within two to five years, regardless of the com­plexity of the project. Part of the rea­son is that Nepalis just don’t like to disappoint. So saying no or giving a realistic timeline seems impossible. I don’t think there is anyone read­ing this who has not been on a long distance bus or on a trekking route and asked “when will we reach our destination?” to be told it will be an hour; but four hours later, you seem no nearer the end.

 

Then of course there are those unforeseen natural and unnatu­ral stumbling blocks. Like the facts that rock is hard to drill through, or blockades do happen. Why is the unexpected not figured into the plan, especially when in a country like Nepal the ‘unexpected’ pretty much happens every week?

 

Many moons ago (about 16 years’ worth) I worked with WaterAid on a little handbook intended for peo­ple in the valley so that they could best utilize their water. There were drawings, technical and lay-persons advice on a rainwater harvesting sys­tem (did anyone?) on the house roof, how to reuse grey water, how to install a well (there was still ground­water underneath us in those days), how to maintain hand pump, etc. The name of this booklet? “While Waiting for Melamchi”.

 

Maybe an addendum needs to be added now which includes things like how to turn your dry well into a garden ornament, or how to use the weather app on your phone to gather rain in a bucket. Of course we didn’t think we would need a whole rain-water harvesting system as Melamchi was coming soon.

 

And before we get too excited about the amount of water that will be coursing through our taps, let’s think about the population of Kath­mandu now and then. When the fea­sibility study was done on Melamchi I’m quite sure it was during the mid-1990s. What was the popula­tion of Kathmandu then? And what is the population of the city now? I don’t have the figures but I think it’s something like a hundred percent increase. More than the population of the whole of Scotland!

 

And speaking of Scotland, we also have a vast river network. Which we utilize. All the water coming from Scottish taps is water from our rivers. And all our elec­tricity comes from the same source. In more recent years this has been supplemented by wind-gen­erated power. Because hey, like rain-water, wind-power is free after the initial installation and a little maintenance.

 

I feel some people think that making use of the rain and wind is ‘old-fashioned’. While it is true that these nature given gifts were utilized by past generations around the world, they are certainly not ‘old fashioned’ as can be seen by the upsurge of use and interest in devel­oped countries. Solar-run houses are springing up, and although those are pretty expensive at start-up, a solar panel or two is a great idea. Just ask any villager living in the hills and mountains here—they have had solar panels for decades. Just ask me (snug look on my face as I switch on my solar lights).

 

So yes, as the papers are all announcing—‘finally’ there is a breakthrough on Melamchi. Let’s see when, ‘finally’, we will see the results in our taps.