It’s the dry season, and water shortages are a common challenge. In the upper part of Dungmanma village in Trashigang’s Lumang Gewog, residents are struggling as water sources dry up and the supply system lacks proper management. Their drinking water supply system, constructed over 25 years ago, is failing to meet the demand.
Many reservoirs and distribution tanks are small, old, and a few are already damaged.
Drying water sources, leaky pipelines and poor connections have further worsened the supply, leaving around 20 households without reliable access to drinking water. And the scarcity is severe during the dry season.
Some residents have tapped private water sources. However, without adequate storage tanks, access to safe drinking water remains a challenge.
“The water pipeline often leaks along the way, and it takes almost three to four days to fix it, but the problem remains. Our water reservoir tank at the source is also old. Although the villagers have carried out maintenance work, it has not helped much. As farmers, we depend on agriculture, but due to the water shortage, we are unable to cultivate vegetables on a large scale,” said Sangay Chezom, Resident, Dungmanma, Lumang Gewog, Trashigang.
“When we close the water tap, the pressure causes leakage at the pipeline joints. There are many joint points along the pipeline in around three to four areas, and sometimes the pipe even breaks at the Y-joint. If there were a proper reservoir tank, the water could be stored, and we would not face so many problems,” said Dorji Tshomo, Resident, Dungmanma, Lumang Gewog, Trashigang.
“Earlier, we used the public water supply for drinking. However, due to the shortage, we started tapping water privately from another source. At present, it is only enough for drinking, but it dries up after a few months, so we are unable to cultivate many vegetables,” said Jigme Choden, Resident, Dungmanma, Lumang Gewog, Trashigang.
Lumang Gup said that the residents in the upper part of Dungmanma village did not raise their drinking water issue during the Chiwog Zomdu, so no budget was allocated this year.
The gewog, however, plans to extend water supply to Phungchilo village in the next financial year, which is expected to benefit Dungmanma residents as well. Until then, residents will have to cope with the ongoing water shortage.
Sonam Darjay, Trashigang
Edited by Sonam Pem
