Chronic shortage of drinking water in Nepal

Fetching drinking water is a daily ordeal for schoolgirl Sumitra Maharjan, who queues from dawn for hours to access a local public tap. "I often miss school, and this is badly affecting my studies," said the frustrated 15-year-old, holding a blue water bucket and standing behind 100 other people. However, Maharjan is luckier than some - she manages to get water at least once a day. A large number of residents in Kathmandu have not seen a drop of water from their taps for months. "My tap has been dry for the last six months. You can imagine the crisis we are facing, " said a local resident, Ramesh Gurung. Most of Kathmandu's drinking water comes from the Bagmati river system, which has seven streams in Kathmandu valley. However, the supply is insufficient for the city, which has a chronic water shortage.