With technical and financial support from WaterAid Nepal and The Coca-Cola Foundation, the Centre for Integrated Urban Development (CIUD) has launched a new WASH initiative in Godawari Municipality. The project, titled “Advancing Resilient WASH Access for Vulnerable Communities in Bangladesh and Nepal (AR-WASH-VCBN)”, aims to ensure safe and affordable drinking water for 714 households in Ward No. 9 through a one house, one tap water supply approach.
During the project inception workshop which was held on Jan 16, 2026, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed among CIUD, Godawari Municipality, and the Chhampi Water and Sanitation Users Committee (WSUC), formalizing roles and responsibilities under this joint technical and financial collaboration. At the workshop, Sudarshan Rajbhandari, Program Director and Project Team Leader, presented an overview of the project, highlighting its overall goal, expected impacts, key outputs, and planned activities.
The workshop was attended by several distinguished guests, including Gajendra Maharjan, Mayor, and Man Mahadur Khadka, Chief Administrative Officer, representing Godawari Municipality; Atmaram Thapa Chhetri, Chairperson of Ward No. 9; Sudarshan Neupane, Country Director, and Sarbagya Shrestha, Head of Program, from WaterAid Nepal; and Rija Joshi, Executive Director of CIUD.’
In the welcome remarks, Ward Chair, Mr. Thapa emphasized collective effort, cooperation, and coordination to achieve the project’s objectives. He highlighted the ward’s continued support to WASH initiatives and expressed confidence that the new project would benefit all community members. Similarly, Sarbagya Shrestha, the Head of the Program in WaterAid Nepal emphasized the importance of strong WSUCs, WASH legislation, and regulatory frameworks, particularly in the post-earthquake context. He shared WaterAid’s experience in preparing water risk mitigation plans in 14 districts and highlighted the role of groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting.
Rija Joshi, Executive Director in CIUD, shared her long-term collaboration experience with Godawari Municipality and expressed her commitment to supporting safe drinking water initiatives. She highlighted learning from Dukuchap and the plan to apply these lessons in Chhampi and she thanked all stakeholders for their cooperation.
Similarly Mr. Sudarshan Neupane, Country Director, WaterAid Nepal, in his remarks,emphasized sustainability, learning from past projects, and the importance of tariff collection and institutional strengthening. He highlighted WaterAid’s experience since 1987 and reiterated WaterAid’s commitment to problem-solving, learning, and partnership-based implementation.
The program was formally closed by Mr. Gajendra Maharjan, Mayor, Godawari Municipality. In his closing remarks, the Mr. Maharjan appreciated the collective efforts in the water sector and emphasized that safe drinking water remains a municipal priority. He highlighted source protection, digital billing, WSUC strengthening, and visibility of good practices through media engagement. Planned for duration of two years, the project will introduce a range of strategic tools and approaches, including the development of Water Safety Plans, Asset Management Plans, and Business Development Plans, as well as action plans to reduce non-revenue water, scientific tariff setting, online billing system and the promotion of Climate-Resilient (CR) WASH practices.
