Residents of Serigaon in Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality Ward No. 8 are facing acute shortage of water due to prolonged drought. The locals of Serigaun, which is home to more than 300 households, have no choice other than to walk for several hours just to fetch a bucket of water. With the community well drying up, people get their supply of water from a river that is an hour-long journey from the village.
“Water crisis has always been an issue here. But the situation is worse this year. The well has dried up and we have to carry buckets full of water from the river for a long distance, while also spilling precious water along the way,” she said.
During elections, every political party flaunted attractive schemes to rid Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality of its water woes. But locals have been accustomed to such empty promises as the problem seems to persist and get increasingly troublesome with each passing year and each passing authority.
Drought has plagued several other parts of the district as streams, wells, and public taps continue drying up.
The public water taps installed by the drinking water project have also remained out of order for more than a year now. Resident Bhagirath Nepali is distraught to see his crops going to waste. “The vegetables I had grown have been rendered useless,” he said. “Water is the most essential commodity for survival. If we can’t fulfill something as basic as water, how can we expect to improve our lifestyle,” he shared.
The Dipayal Silgadhi Ward No. 8 Chairperson Ram Bahadur Khadka, however, maintains that preparations are underway to ease water supply here. “We are planning to supply water from Wadi Village of Purwichowki Rural Municipality-2. However, the project hasn’t been able to gain momentum due to lack of budget,” he added.
Source : THE RISING NEPAL,
