The Himalayan nation of Nepal, which is rich in water resources, celebrated "National Water Week-2009" on Sunday to mark the World Water Day.

Realizing the fact that the country has currently undergone the crucial refractory water flow, Nepal is observing a week-long celebration for the first time with focus on the World Water Day and the World Meteorological Day.

"To address the ever-growing water stress and changing climate, the Nepali government along with several organizations involving dynamic youth decided to celebrate a Water Week with focus on the World Water Day," said the National Water Week Organization Committee.

The week-long celebration has emerged meaningfully since Nepal is facing seasonal water shortage and remarkable energy crisis across the country.

"Nepal is rich in water resources, so there is need for better management of this important resource for the prosperity of Nepal, " said the organizing committee on Sunday.

Scientists argue that it is not a problem of water availability but a problem of efficient water management.

To address the ongoing scarcity of pure drinking water and the unmanaged water supply, the Nepali government has started various public awareness programs to share information on the merits of clean drinking water and proper sanitation facilities all over the country.

According to the organizers, multi dimensional uses of water to cope with the growing population and the associated risks such as floods, droughts and glacier lake outburst flood are needed.

Moreover, hundreds of rivers flowing along the heavily populated areas and industrial places are facing acute pollution problem resulting in unforgivable health hazards in the country.

Besides of this, global warming has also posed a great threat to environment, calling for immediate actions.

According to a statistics, 87 percent people of the world and 76 percent people of Nepal have access to water. But only 59 percent of the population in the world and 46 percent of the people in Nepal has access to sanitation facility

"The need of week-long program on water awareness has been strongly felt," said the organizers amid a program organized in the Nepali capital Kathmandu on Sunday as a part of the week-long program, which includes in-house interactions, exhibitions, and demonstrations across the country.

The program started on Wednesday and will last till Monday. More than 50 governmental, non-governmental and professional institutions have joined the weeklong celebration, according to the organizing committee.

(Xinhua News Agency March 23, 2009)