Three urban communities of Lalitpur Sub Metropolitan City declared as Safe Water Zone by Bottler’s Nepal and UN-HABITAT on the occasion of World Environment Day 2009. The communities declared as safe water zone included Chhusika & Chochhen of ward 11 and Lohla of ward 9 of Lalitpur Sub Metropolitan City. People of these zones presently practice one of the four household water treatment options to fight against the water borne diseases. The Chief of Drinking Water Quality Development and Control Department Mr. Birendra Man Shakya certified these communities as safe water zone on the occasion of World Enviroment Day on Friday. The programme has succeeded to decrease the cases of diarhoea and cholera in these are this year; said Mr. Shakya

On this declaration Programme, the participants were notified and exhibited different options of water treatments by the community people.

Safe water campaign was launched in these communities which were highly affected by the diarrhoeal diseases in the previous years. In this campaign, organizations like Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanipani Limited, Nepal Government UN-HABITAT, Cococola Company, ENPHO and UEMS were involved. These organizations have been implementing safe water campaign since past three years.

On the occasion of World Environment Day, Urban Environment Management Society (UEMS) and Dipawali Marg Tole Improvement Committee, Satdobato jointly organized a cleanliness programme. Different activities like rally, plantation and community cleanliness were commenced in the programme.

Local people of the Dipawali Marg actively participated in the rally and cleanliness activity to make their community clean. By increasing awareness of the local people to environmental sanitation, the committee is now able to improve the community which was otherwise dirty and unpleasant due to dumping of the garbages in the past. Sapling plantation activity was also organized in the open space of the community “Nya: Khya” which is believed to be the recharge zone of the very popular Sundhara stone spout of Lalitpur district. 45 saplings of water recharging plant ……….. locally known as Lahare Baisa were planted in the area.

In the programme, Chief Guest and Executive Director of UEMS Mr. Dal Bahadur Singtan, President of Dipawali Tole Improvement Committee Mr. Jaya Krishna Maharjan, Prem Krishna Chitrakar, Sano Babu Silawal elucidated on the importance of environmental sanitation and rainwater harvesting in pursuance to the existing water and sanitation concerns in the urban areas of Nepal.