By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Feb. 15: Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is nothing new for the Kathmandu dwellers. But the idea that water rather than cash being dispensed through ATMs might sound strange to many.
But after the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), with support from the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB), set up water ATMs in three places in the city -- Ratnapark, Bhagwanpau Swoyambhu and entrance gate of Balaju Park, water ATMs have become a reality. The metropolis had signed an agreement with the KVWSMB on March 22, 2020 to install them.
All one has to do is to pay a certain amount of money and enjoy the safe drinking water from the machine. They offer 200 millilitre (ml) water at Rs. 1 and one litre at Rs. 5 (five one-rupee coins). They have been named ‘Jaruhiti’, a traditional Newari term for water reservoir.
According to the metropolis, the objective of setting up water ATMs is to provide clean drinking water to the thirsty at an affordable price.
According to KMC, two tanks -- one with the capacity of 1,500 litres and the other with 5,000 -- have been installed for now. It has also planned to connect them with Melamchi water pipelines, and is poised to install five more at other locations.
Executive director of the KVWSMB Sanjeev Bikram Rana said that the board had planned to install a total of 15 water ATMs in different parts of Kathmandu Valley within the current fiscal year and that they would be installed in areas where a large number of people pass by.
In addition, the board is set to install them in hospitals and heritage sites, among others.