Water shortage has forced some of the people in Upper Tashithang village of Gesarling Gewog, Dagana to migrate to nearby villages where the problem is not as severe.
Guman Singh Tamang is one of them. He has moved to Goshi Gewog to escape the water crisis in Tashithang.
“We have to fetch water from the river, which takes about an hour. I have dug the foundation to construct a house but without water, I could not continue. Now, I have moved to Gozhi Gewog,” he said.
The village was provided with water under the Rural Water Supply Scheme in 2010. However, in absence of a permanent source, drinking water supply is scarce especially in winter.
“In summer, we somehow manage to get water from the nearby streams. But in winter, the shortage is severe. We are hoping the government could help us connect to another source,” Chatur Bdr. Subba, a Tashithang resident, said.
“Although we manage in summer, we face water shortage for about five months in a year. I have to fetch water from a source downhill, which takes about an hour on foot. There is a source but it’s far away. We would be grateful if the government could provide us with the necessary support,” Birkha Bdr. Moktan said.
“We have to fetch drinking water. We can’t even grow vegetables. There is no water for the toilet, so it’s difficult when we have guests and conduct rituals. We have to go to the nearby streams,” Mangalai Maya Subba said.
“There is no enough water for our cattle or to grow vegetables. We have to store water in containers. We have to manage from stored water or fetch it from another source, which takes about an hour,” Lok Bdr. Moktan said.
Tashithang Tshogpa, Kharka Bdr. Subba, said they have identified a new source, which is 14 kilometres away from the village.
“Although the government has constructed water taps, there is no water at the source. Some people have already moved to other villages, while others are managing with whatever available,” Kharka Bdr. Subba said.
“We also do not have irrigation water, so people are growing cardamom. We have already written to the gewog administration regarding the matter.”
Gesarling Gup Pema Wangmo Tamang said the gewog administration has proposed for a budget to draw water from another source. They have planned the activity for the second year of the current five-year-plan.
There are 21 households in upper Tashithang. They depend on maize and cardamom for livelihood.
