© 2014 Wazari Wazir | Hitis of Patan | Stone Water Spout | Patan | Kathmandu | Nepal People wait in lines in the early afternoon are a daily ritual in the centre of the palace complex in Patan, Lalitpur. Water spouts are a natural alternative as water tankers find it difficult to navigate the narrow, crowded streets in Kathmandu’s historic district. If properly rehabilitated, the NGO Forum estimates water spouts could meet 10 per cent of the valley’s drinking water needs. Kathmandu valley depended on traditional water structures like stone spouts (hitis/dhunge dharas), ponds (pokhoris) and wells for their water supply until the middle of the nineteenth century when…