People from two villages in Navadurga Village Development Committee (VDC), six in Jogbuda and seven in Sirsha have left their homes due to lack of water. Thirty families from two villages of Navadurga VDC close to the district headquarters, 23 families from Alital and 10 from Jogbuda have been forced to abandon their villages due to water problem. [break]
The displaced families from Khatigaun and Gairigaun of Navadurga VDC are now living in Sakayal of the VDC and Jhatada of Belapur VDC, according to locals while people from Alital and Jogbuda have started to relocate near river. Nwali, Makawanpur and Bhitrisain villages of Alital, and Rampur, Damang and others in Jogbuda have almost become empty.
“A small source at the village has dried up and we have to walk 3-4 hours to fetch water from another village. How can we live under such conditions?” asked Nara Bahadur Magar of Nwali. “No matter how much facility one has, one can´t live without water,” he stated.
Locals say Kurkedi, Chaupala, Dhwad, Matekada and Chaudagaun villages in Navadurga are also facing water problems. The locals have banned bathing in taps due to the problem.
The villages have been facing water problems after the Belapur-Navadurga Drinking Water Project built with aid from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1995 was destroyed in a landslide, according to Sher Bahadur Khati, a local.
Khati said there is no alternate water source to run the project. “We have been forced to leave our houses and land that we had used for several years,” Khati complained.
District Agriculture Office, Dadeldhura also admitted that more than 60 per cent of water sources in the district have dried due to drought.
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