Salyan, December 22

A water supply project has ended the scarcity of water in Baradhunga of Kalimati Rural Municipality-2, Salyan.

Lack of a water sources around the Baradhunga settlement had hit the locals hard for many years.

Earlier, people in the settlement used murky water from a local stream for drinking and other purposes.

“We were compelled to use water from the polluted stream as there was no water source near our village,” said Shiva LalOli, a local. He said that another settlement up in the hills beyond their village was also facing the same problem. Another local, Ram Chandra Oli, said half of the population of the village had migrated due to the shortage of drinking water.

“Many migrated to the lowland areas as people started suffering from various water-borne diseases due to the use of polluted water,” he added. Only those who could not afford to buy land in the lowland valleys were left behind in the village.

However, the situation has changed as the village now has multi-purpose water supply project in operation. The construction of a multi-purpose water project has not only provided drinking water to locals, but also supplies water for irrigation.

Dalit Bikas Samaj Salyan constructed the water supply project with financial assistance from PAHAL programme and Kalimati Rural Municipality. PAHAL stands for Promoting Agriculture, Health and Alternative Livelihoods. It is a five-year USAID initiative designed to achieve food security among vulnerable populations in 14 districts in the middle and high hills of western Nepal

The locals are all praise for the PAHAL programme and Dalit Bikas Samaj Salyan for ‘changing the face’ of their village through the water supply project, which was built at the cost of Rs 1.19 million.

“Many people had left the village due to scarcity of water. Now, we not only have drinking water but also water for irrigation. We grow vegetables and sell them to generate income,” said Khim Lal Oli.

In the past, locals had frequently approached government bodies and district headquarters stressing the need for a water project in the village, but their appeals had fallen on deaf ears. “We drank the murky water from the river during monsoon and barely survived on water collected through rainwater harvesting during winter. Now I suppose our difficult days are over; we have tap water at home after 30 years,” a euphoric Bhim Kumari Oli narrated.