Giving continuing, Water Engineering and Training Center (WETC) celebrated World Water Day 2009. This year World Water Day was marked with the theme "Share Water and Share Opportunity". Also, Water Engineering and Training Centre recently accredited from Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology Government of Nepal. Therefore, the World Water Day and Accreditation award program was organized together on March 20.  

The chief guest of the program was honored by the Honorable chief guest Minister, Er. Ganesh Shah, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology. The program was conducted at DEC Hall, Fourth Floor, World Trade Centre, Tripureshor, Kathmandu.

The Master of Ceremony (MC) of the program was Dr. Jaya Kumar Gurung, the Research Director of Water Engineering and Training Centre. The registration started at 3:30 PM and program started at 4:00 PM chairing by Deputy Director General Mr. Biswa Mani Gyawali.

The program started with conventional manner: chairing by some spokespersons at the podium and rest participants listening to them.

MC Dr. Gurung requested chief guest and some other dignitaries in the dais. He then introduced the members of the newly reformed advisory board of WETC Er. Ganesh Sah, Dr. Nawa Raj Khatiwada, Dr. Basu Dev Pandey, Dr. Tara Niraula, Mr. Mohan Singh Khadga and Mr. Uttam Shrestha.

The program was opened by Ms Jyotsana Gopali, microbiologist of Water Engineering and Training Center giving a pulsating welcome speech highlighting the value of this program and wishing the program success.

Er. Kabindra Pudasaini as a second speaker presented the World Water Day's importance and relevancy. Er. Pudasaini articulated the shortage of water in the Kathmandu Valley and its adverse consequences in poetic verse that warm up the function cheerfully.

Third session of the program was unveil of annual report of the Water Engineering and Training Center 2008. Jaya Kumar Gurung gave a brief background about the complexity raised during the report preparation such as long load shedding and short time. Then Chief Guest, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Er. Ganesh Shah unveiled the Annual Report of Water Engineering and Training Centre 2008. The report was distributed to all the participants immediately.

The next speaker Mr. Bhola Nath Paudyal the Managing Director of Water Engineering and Training Centre highlighted the annual report.

Mr. Paudyal briefed the annual activities of WETC, shortcoming in the report, acknowledged the suggestions received from all well wishers.

Informing all about slight modification of program, Dr. Jaya Kumar Gurung requested the chief guest Minister Ganesh shah to deliver his speech.

Minister in his speech appreciated the achievement of WETC, expressed his gratefulness on the struggle of WETC in the past. He expressed his cheerfulness on the success of WETC to be accredited to Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology (NBSM) and wished success in the future.

Next spokesperson Mr. Hari Ram Koirala, Secretary of Prime Minister Government of Nepal, stressed the need of all sectors involvement for rational development and to safe guard the water resources. Mr. Koirala mentioned the priority of the Nepal Government for Melamchi project realizing the big deficit of water in the Kathmandu Valley. He also urged the need of new approach of Public Private Participation (PPP) in the drinking water and environment management sector.

The topic of talk in the function twisted towards the quality. In this issue, Ms Romi Manandhar, acting Director General of Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology was asked to deliver her speech. She started her talk congratulating WETC for winning the award of accreditation from NBSM. She urged WETC to accept the maintenance of the quality of laboratory as a challenge after accreditation. She disclosed that none of the previously accredited laboratories in Nepal have become success to maintain their quality of accreditation. Ms Manadhar advised also to give feedback to the NBSM as well for the mutual understanding on constraints and possible way outs and its continual improvement.

Another matter of talk was Research. At first facilitator, Gurung briefed the research activities of WETC and then invited another guest from dais Prof. Dr. Hom Nath Bhattarai, Vice Chancellor, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology to deliver his speech. Prof Bhattarai appreciated the initiation of research activities by WETC. He gave the high value to the research being done by WETC with collaboration with Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) titled "Investigation of Arsenic in the groundwater of the Kathmandu Valley".

Facilitator Gurung announced a very special session of the program i.e., Comments and Suggestion Collection". A format was distributed for collection of suggestion from all the participants.

Giving the continuity in speech, next speaker Dr. Nawa Raj Khatiwada, Executive Director, Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI) acknowledged some projects done by WETC with NDRI. He expressed the need of manpower development and their retention in any institution and asked WETC to focus in this matter.

At a last but important spokesman from on behalf of chairmanship, Mr. Biswa Mani Gyawali, the Deputy Director General gave energetic speech with few remarks of the Kathmandu drinking water supply authority-Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited. Mr. Gyawali stressed the need of quality maintenance of water supply by the authorities. He finally thanked all the participants in the program, and requested them for dinner and declared the end of the program.

Cocktail and Dinner

All the participants enjoyed cocktail dinner that went until 10:00 PM, chatting and discussing on different issues on water and environment, quality control, collaboration etc.

Most of the participants completed and delivered their comments and suggestion forms to the desk officer.