Palpa, March 10 -- For Maya Sunar of Yamgha Ratmata in ward 6 of Baganasakali Rural Municipality in Palpa district, fetching water has become a daily struggle. Despite her morning rush to send her children to school, securing water remains her top priority. "My morning is spent carrying water," she said while returning from the community tap. "I can't fetch more than four gagri (metal water pot). My back hurts from carrying them." According to her, it takes nearly an hour to fetch a single gagri of water.

Dhruba Adhikari from Maure village shares a similar ordeal. He says he spends almost six hours collecting six gagri of water. The journey is exhausting as he must climb steep paths on his way back. "For the past six months, we've been c...