HARIZ BAHARUDIN
This year’s World Water Day on Saturday 22 March has the theme water and energy. In Nepal the two are inextricably linked. The country’s failure to harness hydropower has led to a crippling dependency on unaffordable petroleum imports. Alternatives are available, but the economy is hopelessly addicted to fossil fuels. Despite its population growth, Nepal has the most abundant supply of water per capita in the world. But if there is one glaring example of mismanagement and plain stupidity on the part of successive governments since 1990, then it is how we have squandered our water resources.