Inadequate and unreliable water supply which has been there for more than a decade will finally come to an end for the residents of Goomkarmo chiwog under Lingmukha Gewog in Punakha. The additional drinking water supply was launched recently. The chiwog will now have a reservoir with 70,000 litres of water capacity, located about nine kilometres away from the chiwog.
Due to the increasing population in the chiwog and the water source afar, the water problem worsened every year. Their old water source from Shengana Gewog was about eighteen kilometres away from the chiwog. But with a new water supply, people will no longer have to store water in containers and fetch water on a rotational basis.
“The additional water supply will directly benefit around 60 households in the chiwog. The earlier water supply from Shengana was not sufficient and it was difficult,” said Sonam Tobgay, the Lingmukha Gup.
“The current water supply would immensely help us maintain cleanliness and hygiene. It will also encourage people to make kitchen gardens. Because of the water problem, people in the village could not do anything and left the land fallow. Hereafter, we will be able to generate income by selling vegetables as the water is no more scarce,” added Tenzin Wangchuk, the Goomkarmo chiwog Tshogpa.
“We are extremely happy as we have water at our doorstep. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty the King. Earlier, we had to buy all the vegetables from the market. But not anymore, we can now grow vegetables,” said Phub Lam, a resident of the chiwog.
“We had a serious problem earlier due to insufficient water. We can now maintain hygiene. It will also be easier for us to feed our cattle. Otherwise, we used to go down to Punatsangchhu to quench their thirst,” added Namgay Tshering, another resident.
Two households will share a water pipe each. Likewise, the community will strictly monitor and manage the water supply to ensure a sustainable supply.
“Hereafter, the water will be managed by forming a group. The failure to carry out the responsibility will have repercussions on the residents given the resources spent,” said Karma Drukpa, the Punakha Dzongda.
“There won’t be much water usage after 8 pm. If the caretaker monitors the supply timing effectively then there will be no water shortage,” the Lingmukha Gup added.
The government spent Nu 3.4 M for the construction of the water supply which took more than a year to complete.
Changa Dorji, Punakha
