‘Focus on sanitation and hygiene’

Kathmandu. Minister for Drinking Water, Pradip Yadav, has said all sides’ cooperation is essential to keep intact sanitation and hygiene campaigns. Minister Yadav wrote to chairs and main leaders of all political parties, seeking their cooperation to the initiatives related to drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and adaptation to climate change.

The party chairs and leaders are urged to raise these issues actively in the Cabinet and parliament meetings, organize meetings securing attendance of all province chief ministers, and formulate sanitation strategy with inclusive and climate adaptation. The issues of drinking water, sanitation and hygiene need special attention from political leaders, he said, adding that all sides’ cooperation and coordination would result in synergy.

According to him, alacrity to forward these issues was a severe lack while duplication of sanitation programmes in three tiers of government, resource crunch, and procedural hassles were some of the key challenges.

Drinking water and sanitation is a pillar of sustainable development, he reminded, adding that all political parties must be committed to expanding the service of the Melamchi Drinking Water project up to Chandragiri municipality in the Kathmandu Valley. He demanded scrapping tax imposed on community drinking water system.