Villagers of Kalzang-ri under Darla Gewog in Chhukha are grappling with extreme shortage of drinking water supply. Despite several efforts by the government, the problem has persisted for decades.
Without a water supply in the village, people resort to a small pond for water. They wait for their turns to fill the bottles and jerry cans. The pond gets empty after filling a ten litre container. They then wait for the pond to get filled again. Some people stay awake at night to fetch the water.
“It is very difficult to main hygiene. Forget about proper sanitation, we don’t have enough water to drink. Every year we face the same issue. In summer, we get little from the ponds like this. In winter even the ponds dry up,” one of the residents, Rinzin Om told BBS News.
Fetching water from the pond is extremely tiresome as they have to carry the filled containers home. “Once we reach home, we have to wash dishes and all. We don’t have water to wash clothes,” added Rinzin.
Her village mates couldn’t agree more. Namgay, another villager said: “We have many residents and the source has limited water. I came in the morning too but had to return empty hand. I now got water at least to prepare tea. I live beyond the mountain and it is very difficult to take water there.”
There are two small ponds in the village. They also hire a vehicle to fetch the water from neighbouring places. They pay Nu 1,200 as a hiring charge.
The dearth of water has forced most of the farmers to sell their cattle. According to the health officials, people in the village also suffer from water borne diseases such as scabies and diarrhea.
The government has carried out a project worth of Nu 26m to solve the water issue in the gewog last year. The project has not benefitted the village. The gewog officials along with the people from the village plan to inspect the main water source soon.
