Drought-like conditions, contaminated water spark outbreak risks
Summary
In Lalitpur's Konjyosom Rural Municipality, 60% of tested drinking water samples are contaminated, raising concerns over waterborne disease outbreaks amid drought-like conditions.
Key Points
- 60 percent of drinking water samples in Konjyosom Rural Municipality, Lalitpur, tested positive for faecal coliform contamination, making them unfit for drinking.
- Water scarcity due to drought-like conditions could force people to use unsafe water sources, increasing the risk of outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.
- A major cholera outbreak with fatalities occurred last year in Parsa and Bara districts due to contaminated water and poor preventive measures.
- Over 60 percent of drinking water samples nationwide were found contaminated in the Nepal Multiple Indicator Survey 2024-25, despite 98.2 percent of the population using improved water sources.
