Kathmandu, May 6 -- As many as 14 children under five years of age succumbed to diarrhoeal ailments in the fiscal year 2080-81 (2023-2024), a rise from four deaths in the previous fiscal year, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Population.

The rise is not limited to children under five years of age but also in the overall population. What concerns experts is an intensification of pre-monsoon rainfall activities throughout the country and the looming monsoon, in which most drinking water resources get contaminated with deadly microbes.

A study carried out by the health ministry following an outbreak last year showed that nearly 70 percent of drinking water samples in Kathmandu Valley were contaminated with deadly mi...