11,000 residents in Nepal’s Madhesh province gain access to clean water through solar energy

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More than 11,000 residents in Nepal’s Madhesh province now have access to clean drinking water with the successful implementation of solar-powered water pumping projects. 

The projects involved the installation of solar pumps with a total capacity of 186 kWp in the Sarlahi and Siraha districts. 

The projects were supported by the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), the Government of Japan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Government of Japan and the UNDP recently handed over a 9 kWp project to Harion Municipality in the Sarlahi district. It provides over 260 residents with access to potable water as well as irrigation for modern agriculture such as drip irrigation for polyhouse farming. 

In Nepal, the Chure hill regions especially lack access to clean water supply. Locals have long been forced to rely on tiny seasonal streams and water holes due to deforestation, haphazard development, and the extraction of sand and stone, all of which are made worse by climate change. Every day, 3-4 hours were spent by women and children carrying water to their homes. 

Along with the solar-powered drinking water system, solar PV backup systems were also installed with support from the Government of Japan. This ensured an uninterrupted electrical supply to critical medical equipment in 11 health facilities as well as computer and audio-visual equipment in two schools in the Sarlahi district. 

Moreover, 266 women and men have been trained in different aspects of solar PV technologies and institutional building to ensure their long-term use even after the project phases out. 

The projects were funded by the Japan Supplementary Budget

 

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