There are frequent reports about water scarcity from across the country. In some places the shortage is acute that it forced people to abandon their hometown. One such place is in Lholing village of Sharpa Gewog in Paro.
Lholing village, on the way to Dongkarla goenpa from Sharpa, once used to be a happening place. But today, it has almost turned into a ghost village. The inhabitants had long abandoned their ancestral homes after the water sources started drying up about a decade ago.
Among the many who left the village is 51-year-old Chencho Om. She now visits the village only once in a while.
“There was a time when we used to live happily in our village. We stacked up firewood in front of our house and leave the ground floor as cowshed. And in our attic, we store wheat, turnip and radish. But we had to leave that lifestyle and abandon the village due to water scarcity. Now, we visit the village some times only to offer butter lamps.”
As per records with the gewog office, about 12 villagers abandoned their homes. Currently, a few hermits live in some of the houses.
“A few years ago, we identified a water source at Khempalakha but it is not reliable. Currently Phudru Goenpa, Mindu Goenpa and Lholing are sharing this water. It is not enough,” said Sharpa Gup Chencho Gyeltshen.
According to the gup the inhabitants would gladly return to the village only if there is enough water for every household. “There is no reliable water source along this area. We swept all the mountain ranges here for potential water source but in vain. Finally, we identified one source at Jigme Rongchu in Thimphu. It is almost 30 kilometers away from the village. As per a rough estimate, it will cost about Nu 60 M to materialise the source.”
But for now, the people’s hope of returning to the village looks grim with no reliable water source in sight.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
