Thousands of locals from dozens of villages in the district have been severely hit as water sources always dry up with the arrival of summer.[break]
Residents of VDCs like Bajho, Chisapani, Soyak, Chulachuli, Kanyam, Fikkal, Namsaling, Jamuna, Soyang, Jitpur, Siddhithumka and Jirmale are undergoing a drinking water crisis. Every year, around this time, the shortage of water grips the locals.
Fed up with the water crisis, around 55 households of Jitpur and Soyak VDCs have already migrated out. Faced with difficulty in keeping livestock and farming the land owing to the water crisis, the villagers are leaving in a steady pace, said Abi Narayan Acharya, a local of Jitpur VDC.
They have reportedly shifted to the terai plains and to villages where water is more easily accessible.
Last year, more than a dozen families left Jitpur VDC. “The water shortage is more chronic than in previous years. More than 100 families are on the verge of migrating any time,” says Puspa Acharya, another Jitpur local.
Locals are obliged to walk more than two hours daily to fetch water. “If this dire situation continues for long, there will be no option but to leave the village,” says Acharya.
Over the past few years, Yamuna Tamang, a local of Kanyam VDC, has been getting up at 3 a.m. and walking one and a half hours daily to fetch water. She says, “We line up for several hours from early morning to fetch water. The morning goes by just waiting for our turn to fill the bucket.”
After a water source dried up, locals of Harkate in Kanyam VDC have been taking out water from a 300 meter deep tank, using an electric motor. “More than 50 households will face severe water scarcity if the power supply stops,” said Mukunda Poudel, a local of Harkate.
Likewise, as many as 40 families of Laxmipur VDC-5 are also living in great stress for lack of drinking water.
The increase in population has compounded the water shortage. “As all the water resources in the villages are rapidly drying up, there is a water crunch.” said Ram Rana, head of the Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users, Ilam. He also said that the locals should launch a drive to preserve the water resources in the district.
According to the Department of Drinking Water and Sewerage Ilam district office, only 67 percent of locals have access to drinking water.
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