Ramesh Kumar Oli / Salyan, March 20 (RSS): Settlements in the high hills of Salyan district are reeling under acute shortage of water with the onset of summer.
Villages as Chaur, Majhkharka and Basnewata in Bangad Kupinde Municipality-12 are facing shortage of water.
The problem is such that the locals have to walk two hours to the nearest water source to fetch a bucket of water. Not only that, they have to wait for their turn for couple more hours to fill their water pots and then again walk uphill for two hours home. This means that a person has to give almost an entire day in fetching water.
“There are no water sources near our village. We have to walk for two hours to the nearest water source. It takes an entire day to bring water for drinking and for the cattle,” shared Rewati Oli of Chaur, Bangad Kupinde Municipality-12, explaining the situation.
The locals of Chaur used to use the water from a pond nearby the village to feed their cattle. But the pond has also dried with the beginning of summer, further compounding the problem.
This has also hampered the studies of the kids in the village as sometimes the parents mobilise them to fetch water from the water source and they miss school.
“It is even difficult to fetch adequate water needed by people not to mention water for the cattle. It will be hard to keep cattle in such dire situation,” said Chandra Bahadur Pun, a local. He said a water tank that was constructed in the village to collect rainwater has also dried.
Govinda Dangi, Chair of Bangad Kupinde Municipality Ward No 12, said the settlements are situated at high altitude hills and there are very few water sources. “On top of that, whatever sources were there have dried due to the long drought spell,” he said.
According to Dangi the only alternative to addressing the problem of shortage of water is to pump up the water from the source that is at the foothill. He said he has been taking initiation for that.
He said many people from the settlements have migrated out due to the acute shortage of water.
Chotre, a remote hamlet comprising 47 households in Kalimati Rural Municipality-1, is also facing the same problem. The situation is even worse in Chotre and the villagers are thinking of migrating to another location near a water source.
Many settlements like Kot, Bayale, Pokhara, Dhungakateri, Dhumka and Aaruchaur in Kalimati Rural Municipality are facing dire shortage of water.
