With the new drinking water supply project inaugurated yesterday, 91 households of Dechhen Pelri village of Samtenling Gewog in Sarpang are all smiles. Tarayana Foundation in collaboration with the Bhutan Foundation initiated the project worth Nu 1 M. Residents have been facing the water shortage for some four years now.
Residents said, the increasing number of settlements and developmental activities led to the drinking water shortage in the village. However, the new water supply is expected to not only resolve the drinking water issue but also encourage farmers to venture into winter vegetable farming.
“In the past, venturing into vegetable farming was difficult with inadequate water. But now with the new water supply project, we will be able to do a lot of things. We are very happy,” said Karma Tenzin, a resident of Dechhen Pelri.
“We were in dire need of a water supply especially for farming during the winter season. We are thankful for this project. Not only were we provided with the water supply but also every household was provided with a 500-litre reservoir tank,” said karma Thinley, another resident.
The Tarayana Foundation constructed a 1000-litre capacity intake reservoir along with a 20,000 capacity distributor tank at the source in the village. In addition, all the 91 households were provided with a 500-litre reservoir tank. The beneficiaries contributed the labourer works after the project was initiated some three months ago.
“With a lack of knowledge on water management, it would be difficult for the people to manage the water supply in the future. So a team from Tarayana Foundation educated the people about water management,” said Namgay, the Field Officer of Tarayana Foundation.
People of Dechhen Pelri are originally from Edi village in Zhemgang. They resettled at Dechhen Pelri village in 2003.
Karma Wangdi, Gelegphu
