Two decades earlier, Late P.M Krishna Prasad Bhattarai had envisioned that residents of Kathmandu would be at ease from the chronic water shortage situation after the completion of the Melamchi Water Supply Project. This is yet to be true though this project is supposed to be the reliable long-term alternative source of water supply in Kathmandu. People are optimist about the completion of this project at the earliest but the problems faced by the city dwellers are worth mentioning.

Intensified installation of water pipes in the Kathmandu valley has added the plight to the city dwellers. The roads are dug and the pipes are laid everywhere on the side of the roads that has contributed in long hours of traffic. The vehicles are in long queue. No one is sure about reaching to his/her destination in time. It is difficult to figure out who is few meters ahead because of dust. One comes out energetic, clean, and tidy from home but as he reaches to the road, within a few minutes he is full of dust, his freshness vanishes therein. It is not surprising to see some vehicles struck into the pits which are made to install the pipes.

As it rains, the roads become muddy and slippery like the paddy plantation field causing difficulty to walk for the pedestrians. The vehicles spatter the curd like smooth mud into the body of the people. After few minutes of scorching sun, the same mud turns into the dust causing suffocation to breath in. people inhale dust instead of fresh air. Coming outside the house without the face mask is almost impossible. The dust particles present in the atmosphere has formed the thick layer, and made the city spaces uglier. Apart from this, most of the people are suffering from air and water borne diseases and most of the hospitals in the valley are over-crowded with the sick people.

Though, the project will be fruitful in the future, random installation of water pipes in the city by Melamchi Drinking Water Supply Project is snatching the symmetrical life of city dwellers. The short term problems are manageable but the long term problems that might arise in the human health due to this unsystematic development work are unpredictable. If not checked and balanced on a sustainable long-term basis to improve the health and well-being of its inhabitants, and structuring the valley in due time, no one knows what will be the fate of city residents in the days to come.