The long-standing water issue in Gangtokha village of Paro has finally been addressed. A water project to provide sufficient and safe drinking water to more than 50 households was completed recently. The residents in the village were facing acute water shortages for the past two decades.
Life in Gangtokha village under Loong-nyi Gewog was difficult especially because of the drinking water shortage.
The water sources have been drying up while the population in the village has been growing. This has only added to the water woes in the community.
Forty-three-year-old Phub Lham says it is difficult without sufficient water since most people also have cattle and other animals. “The water that we have right now is very small. If we keep a container under the taps in the evening, it gets filled up only in the morning.” She added sometimes this too stops, and she has to go to the stream below her house for water.
According to another resident, Lobzang, the old water supply was constructed about 17 years ago and intended for about 20 households. The population has now more than doubled. “The rising population put too much pressure on the existing water facility, that’s why the water problem was acute. Today there are about 55 households in the village”.
With the completion of the water project, the villagers are now all smiles. A 20,000-litre capacity water tank at the source and two reservoirs with a total capacity of about 23,000 litres near the village were constructed along with a 10-kilometre distribution pipeline. The project which cost about Nu 2.3 M was financed jointly by the gewog office and the people.
Loong-nyi Gup Jamtsho said, “Normally, the gewog office provides the raw materials and the people carry out the work. But in our case, most of the people lived in other places while some are office-goers. So the people decided to contribute money instead.”
The Gewog office is also preparing a set of rules for the management and sustainability of the water system. A committee consisting the residents will look after the maintenance.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
