KATHMANDU

Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security and Acting Minister for Water Supplies, Sharat Singh Bhandari, has said the government is aware of its responsibility to ensure the citizen’s access to clean and pure drinking water, a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution.

 In his address to a National Conclave on Joint Sector Review in Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Kathmandu today, the Minister said collective efforts are essential to address people’s basic needs such as access to drinking water and hygiene.

 Citizen’s access to drinking water and sanitation is itself a multi-dimensional issue, he said, underlining the need of improvements in its inter-related areas as well. He hoped that the Conference would give a roadmap for achieving goals in the relevant sector.

The Minister took time to say that if special actions could be taken in the sector concerning with the sustainable development goals as well, it would greatly contribute to building an equitable society. He also took time to insist on addressing the issue of the drop of groundwater level in the Chure region.