KATHMANDU, JULY 25

Once known as a perennial source of water, most of the major cities and places of Madhes are grappling with severe water scarcity and drought, especially during the summer season.

Naveen Shah, a resident of Brahmapuri Municipality, Sarlahi, told social media, "Where are you? Our constituency MP Mahendra Ray Yadav, Province Assembly member Jungilal Ray and Brahampuri Rural Municipality Ward Chairperson Ram Padartha Sah Teli, our water sources are drying, farmers are dying and we are all struggling."

He said in most areas of Madhes, including Brahmapuri Rural Municipality, water channels, wells, tube wells and deep boring had dried and the water level had gone down.

Due to scarcity of water for irrigation the fields are parched. This is a situation of serious concern for the people.

"In such a dire condition, it seems very unfortunate that the central government, province government and the local government have not taken any concrete step," complained Shah.

He said that there was still time, if alternative work such as deep boring for drinking water and diversion from perennial rivers for irrigationwere not started, the commoners would soon be fighting for water.

"We want to warn the common people and all the young people of Brahampuri Rural Municipality to take public action against such apathetic government," said Shah.

According to him, if the people of Chure and Madhes still do not come to their senses the future will be blighted. The signs are already there. The situation will worsen after a few years.

He said the problems of drought, heat and drinking water unavailability are worsening in the Madhes.

Life has become chaotic.

Meanwhile, Chandra Kishore, a Madhes-based columnist, has been constantly raising the issues of water scarcity and drought.

He said, "I have consistently raised the issue of Chure-Shivalik range degradation which is the main factor leading to the present water scarcity. It should be noted that this range serves as a reservoir for most of the Gangetic plains. It isour collective failure to bring this discussion to the forefront and this is a missing issue in our (Nepal-India) bilateral relations."

"There is water crisis in the Tarai and everyone's life has been affected. The 'soil' of the Tarai is slowly dying and this will have dire consequences in the long run," Chandra Kishore told THT.

According to him, the causes of the water crisis in the Tarai are: exploitation of the Chure region, unwanted boring, lack of heavy rainfall,extinction of ponds and wells, encroachment of rivers, deforestation, boring in the name of Jal Nal policy in Bihar, India, no directive for boring, lack of rainwater harvesting, and not planting trees that absorb more water etc.

He said, "Since yesterday, the problem of groundwater in the Birgunj area has appeared out of the blue. Why did it happen suddenly? It occurred a few weeks ago but had improved. The hand pumps that extract water from 150 feet below have mostly dried up. Somehowwater is available at 250 feet.

Consider how deep the ground water level has dropped, technical research is necessary for that."

"The impact of water scarcity could be observed in malfunctioning of water pumps, long queues at the taps, difficulty in rearing animals, lack of cleanliness, and community schools and hospitals running out of water," Chandra Kishore Added.

He said people want immediate solutions as the situation needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency. The Madhes government should hold high-level consultation with experts and coordinate with the municipalities to find a sustainable solution.

"If rainwater harvesting could be implemented and Chure region be saved as a water tower through scientific plantation then the water scarcity and drought in the Tarai could be prevented.

But as Tarai is mainly dependent on ground water, we need to recharge the groundwater by diverting perennial rivers and creating artificial reservoirs," said director of Smart WASH Solutions, Ram Deep Sah.

"Coordination and cooperation among the local, provincial, and central governments is necessary. If they work together using proper technologies then the problem can be resolved through water resources restoration and recharge," Sah added.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 26, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.