Dhading, September 24

Locals at Baireni VDC of Dhading have been reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. People at Palangkharka, Machhedi and Solekriti villages of the VDC have no option but to walk for more than one hour every day to fetch water.

After local water sources were damaged due to the April 25 earthquake, as many as 32 households of Palangkharka, 17 of Machhedi and 60 of Solekriti are facing a hard time due to water crisis.

The locals complained that though they had submitted written appeals at their VDC office seeking a solution to the crisis, the administration was yet to take any initiative.

Ram Sharan Tamang of Machhedi said it was getting increasingly difficult to manage water for both people as well as cattle. “We have not been able to maintain sanitation for want of water,” he added.

Local Prem Bahadur Tamang said people of all ages, including both men and women, were forced to fetch water from Kheste River from early morning. “Though many organisations approach our villages to distribute relief, nobody has made any effort to do anything about the water crunch so far,” he lamented.

Laxman Bhattarai, Baireni VDC secretary, said the water crunch had been a problem prevailing in the locality doe long and the April 25 earthquake aggravated the situation.

“As there are no water sources near the village, the VDC did not allocate budget for water management,” he said.

He added that they required a bulky budget for the task. “Hence, we have been consulting with the district development committee,” said Bhattarai. Locals in more than two dozen settlements of the VDC have been hit hard due to the water crunch.

District Disaster Rescue Committee Coordinator and Chief District Officer Basudev Ghimire said local folks had to face water crunch after water sources in the locality turned dry. “Necessary consultations and initiatives to seek alternativesto address the problem are under way,” said CDO Ghimire.