The residents of Tading Gewog’s Pangzhing Wogma and Pangzhing Gongma villages in Samtse find themselves grappling with a continued shortage of drinking water. The problem has been bothering them for a while now and they are finding it difficult to cope with.
Every day when the people in Pangzhing village turn on their taps, they hope for clean water, only to find it dry again. It’s a daily frustration they have been enduring for what feels like too long.
“Our water source is quite a trek away, and when the monsoon season hits, things get tough. We face a serious shortage of water because the water pipes tend to burst during this time. It is a headache for the whole village as we end up spending about one to two weeks just fixing those pipes,” said Resham Kumari Ghalley, a resident of Pangzhing village.
The water shortage impacts everyone in the village on a daily basis. Even the recently upgraded Tashithang School, which has 650 students is facing difficulties because of it.
“We have been facing the water issues for a very long time now. For now, we are drawing the water from the source called Nagi. The water source is located very far and if there is any problem with the water source, then we will take weeks to reach the water source. Without a good supply of water, the entire school faces inconveniences for weeks,” said Karna Bdr Ghalley, a cook at the school.
Frustrated by the unreliable water supply, some residents have resorted to purchasing water pipes and drawing water from alternative sources, such as riversides.
However, this temporary solution is proving to be increasingly unsustainable with water sources drying up and failing to meet the escalating demand.
“It has been about two years now since we bought our water pipes and started drawing water from the nearby water sources. We spent about Nu 18,000 for the works,” said Tara Maya Ghalley, a resident of Pangzhing village.
“I am personally drawing water from a nearby source, and even that is barely enough for my family. It won’t be enough for the other households. Our regular water taps at home hardly give us water for two days. And when we do get water for those two days, the tap just dries out for weeks,” said Cham Bdr Ghalley, another resident.
According to the Tading Gewog Administration, the water shortage is not just confined to Pangzhing village alone. Almost every village within Khempagang-Pangzhing Chiwog is grappling with the same challenge.
The administration highlighted that the water shortage is worsening due to dwindling water sources and frequent bursts in water pipes, often triggered by landslides.
Moreover, many of the villages are located on hilly terrain with water sources positioned at lower and distant locations.
However, to help fix the ongoing problem, the gewog has allocated about Nu 500,000 to look for new water sources and use pumps to draw water.
Additionally, the gewog has applied for the Water Flagship Program in the 13th Five-Year Plan.
Today, Khempagang-Pangzhing Chiwog has about 340 households.
Passang Dorji, Samtse
Edited by Sonam Pem
