People of Baepam village under Udzorong Gewog in Trashigang have been grappling with acute water shortage for more than five years now. Their only water source located some 18 kilometres away from the village is drying up slowly and water tanks are in dire need of maintenance today.
Water taps run dry for almost an entire year in Baepam village. Without a reliable supply of water in the village, almost every households use hard-fetched water wisely today. Among them, some 20 households of the Upper Baepam area are found to be severely affected due to the problem.
“We don’t have enough water supply here. As such we have to use water wisely as it is hardly enough for drinking and cooking purposes. Sometimes, there is no water to be used in toilets, wash our clothes and plates,” said Sonam Norbu, a resident.
Likewise, this has also discouraged few villagers to practice farming despite having the potential to grow all kinds of vegetables in the village.
“Without a proper water supply in our gardens, vegetables get destroyed by pest and sometimes vegetable dries out due to heat. I have formed a vegetable group to supply vegetables in the school but due to the water problem, I am now worried whether I will be able to supply or not,” said Tashi Zangmo, another resident.
The caretaker of the water source said the water tanks at the source are old and leaking. “The water problem here is never-ending. I go to the water source every day and try to fix the problem. Our water tanks at the source is now leaking as it has become quite old now,” said Tenzin Dorji, the caretaker.
Meanwhile, the Gewog Administration said that they have provided material help but could not resolve the matter. However, they added that the matter is expected to be resolved soon informing that around Nu 1.5 M has been allocated under the water flagship programme for a new water source.
“Our engineer and we have finished conducting a survey, and we have decided to hand over the works for the new water source to a contractor from our community,” said Sonam Tenzin, the Baepam village Tshogpa.
Moreover, he added a National Water Project by Desuup is also expected to be initiated in the village soon. “Recently we had our gewog tshogde and during that time, Gup informed us that Desuup will initiate a national water project in our village,” he added.
Once complete, the new water sources will benefit four chiwogs including Baepam chiwog. There are around 60 households in Baepam village today.
Sonam Darjay,Trashigang
