Walking five hours every day to fetch drinking water. This has been the daily routine of Kowka village under Tashiding Gewog in Dagana has been doing for ages. Now, it has become a history. The village finally got water supply on Saturday.
“It takes about 8 kilometres to reach water from the source till here and it is not very easy. Such initiative from the government to its people should be treasured and you should now manage it,” said the Dzongda, Tenzin Thinley.
The jubilant villagers said they will manage their water source and preserve it for future generations as well. “We are very thankful to the government. It will help us to be clean. And I hope this water will flow generations after generations,” said Nar Bahadur, a villager.
The water is at their doorstep and now farmers wish to have some other basic infrastructures like other Gewogs in the country. “We are in desperate need of grade BHU II in our Gewog. During emergencies we have to carry the patients for more than half an hour to reach the nearest road head,” said Dhan Bahadur.
And another villager, Phool Maya, said a farm road would bring lots of benefits to their village.
According to the Gewog Administration Officer, Karma Gyeltshen, they have submitted the need of a BHU and a farm road during the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogchung last year but the DYT disapproved it as the Gewog is just 12 kilometres away from Dagapela Hospital. He said priorities needed to be given to other remote villages like Gangjab, where people have to walk at least 5 hours to reach the nearest road head.
“If you look at the population of our Gewog we are qualified to get a BHU but Dzongkhag says our Gewog is near to district hospital,” added the GAO.