Every election, parties come up with attractive pledges to woo the voters. But for the people who struggle with access to basic needs like drinking water, other promises seem fancy and out of sync with the reality.
In Dompola village of Lingmukha Gewog in Punakha, what the people there need is drinking water. For them, every drop counts- literally.
The village is home to 25 households and each household gets water only for a day every week. This arrangement was put in place so that the little water they have is shared equally among the households.
“Not a drop is wasted because we get water only once a week,” Chenzom from Dompola said.
“On the day we receive water, we are busy filling up the tanks and all the cans that we have, doing the dishes and washing clothes.”
Kencho Zam, another villager, says the stored water is enough in summer but not in winter when her children visit.
69-year-old Sangay Dorji is a former local leader of Limungkha.
“The water-sharing arrangement was initiated because some people were wasting water and this caused problems in the community,” he said.
The current Gup Sonam Tobgay said solving the problem of water shortage in Dompola village has been prioritized in the 12th Five Year Plan.
“We have already allocated budget for it. We will have to preserve the source and even identify a new one if necessary.”
During the National Assembly General Election Public Debate of Lingmukha_Toedwang yesterday, the candidates of both Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) promised to solve the problem once and for all if they are elected.
The pledge has provided some respite to the people for now. But only time will tell whether the parties will keep their word or not.
