The residents of Tshoden chiwog at Samrang Gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar are facing an acute shortage of drinking water. The villagers say they are unable to maintain hygiene or practise farming due to the water shortage.
Laxmi Narayan depends on this small stream above his house which is also on the verge of drying up. He says it is not even enough for a family of three. Laxmi says the severe water shortage issue is affecting the villagers in pursuing agricultural and livestock activities.
“Water is very small. I am unable to carry out my fishery works. The water is not even enough for drinking. I store water in cans and drums,” said Laxmi Narayan.
The water taps in the village are almost rusted. The taps remained dry since their installation in 2021. 
Some villagers say the Samrang Gewog Administration constructed a water source at Kalanadi river in 2021 for Tshoden chiwog. But they never received water as the source was unreliable.
“We don’t receive water from the source constructed by the government since water pipes have started to burst. Now, we depend on the nearby stream and have to share with neighbours. So, when I open water tap here, my neighbour doesn’t receive water,” said N.K Sharma, a resident of Tshoden chiwog in Samrang Gewog.
“Actually, we have a private water source but that is not even enough for drinking. As a result, we cannot do fishery and other agricultural works,” added Archod Pradhan, another resident.
To resolve the issue, the Samrang Gewog office is working to supply water for Tshoden residents from a new source at Laptsha Zor Jug stream.
Samrang is the smallest gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar in terms of number of households. And Tshoden chiwog has seven households with around 20 residents.
“The seven families resettled here in 2018, and in addition 10 people purchased land here. So, for the 17 households, the Gewog Tshogde decided to allocate 500,000 ngultrum to supply water from about 3 kilometers away. Works are underway,” said Samrang Gup Jigme Singay Drukpa.
The works to construct a water intake structure at the source and 2050 litres of water tank have been completed. As of today, laying of the water pipe is ongoing. The work is expected to complete within a month.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Phub Gyem
