Some pockets of Samdrup Jongkhar Thromde have been facing water shortage for almost a month now. This is due to the old water distribution channel and damaged water pump. The water shortage problem has never been a new issue for the Samdrup Jongkhar residents.
Residents say it is difficult to stay without water in hot weather. And some residents did not receive water for almost a week while some for almost a month now.
These days, Thromde supplies water in tankers to the residents.
“It is difficult to stay without water as it is hot out here,” said Mena Gurung, a resident.
“In a day, we receive water for around 30 minutes and sometimes an hour,” said Kuenzang Dorji, another resident.
For the Samdrup Jongkhar Mead constituency, water is supplied from three boreholes.
According to Samdrup Jongkhar Thromde official, some residents or buildings did not receive water since the pipe connections were old and the water pump at the bore well was damaged. However, the pump was repaired recently.
“Another problem is that most of the water pipes are old and damaged. The building owners need to see whether the pipes are working or not,” said Karma Sherab Thobgyal, the Thrompon.
Water is supplied from the water treatment plant for the Samdrup Jongkhar Toed and Bar constituency. The treatment plant is located 4-kilometre away from Samdrup Jongkhar town. It supplies about 2 M litres of water daily but residents are not getting enough water with leakage of pipes and old water distribution network.
“Currently, we are facing a water shortage because the water distribution channel is old. The distribution channel was built around 40 years ago with support from Asian Development Bank. We are constructing a water distribution network and the work has been awarded to the contractor. All the old pipes will be replaced in all the Demkhongs. In about two to three years from now, residents will get enough water supply,” Thrompon added.
The construction of the water distribution channel will cost around Nu 137 M.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdup Jongkhar
