Khalanga faces acute drinking water shortage after landslide damages supply line

Darchula: Khalanga, the district headquarters of Darchula, is facing a severe drinking water shortage after continuous rains triggered a landslide that damaged the main water supply system.

The disruption has affected large parts of Wards 4 and 5 of Mahakali Municipality, where water supplied through the Khalanga Drinking Water, Sewage and Sanitation Consumers Committee has been halted. Locals are now relying on the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force for water.

According to Committee Chairman Jaydev Joshi, the supply was cut off after a landslide near Badali village in Mahakali Municipality-3 damaged the pipeline carrying water from the source to the storage tank. Both the main line in Badali and the branch line in Malbela were broken, leaving the district headquarters without supply for the past three days.

“It has been three days without water. We haven’t been able to clean the area properly,” said Sangita Dhami, a local of Khalanga. Another resident, Kalawati Bhat, shared that many households have had to seek drinking water from security forces.

Chairman Joshi confirmed that repair works are underway to restore the pipeline soon. In the meantime, the fire brigade of Mahakali Municipality has been distributing water brought from the Dhauligad River to ease the shortage. “We are providing water through the fire brigade to give some relief to locals,” said Municipal Police Constable Vijay Singh Airi.

The Khalanga Water Supply, Sewage and Sanitation Consumers Committee currently serves around 2,300 customers across Ward No. 5’s Mohati and Gulfai areas, Bangabagad, Tinkerkheda, Beach Bazaar, and Ward No. 4 of Mahakali Municipality.