PALPA, Aug 10: Landslides triggered by incessant rain in Baughapokharathok, Tansen Municipality-12 of Palpa district, have washed away the water tank there, disrupting water supply to the entire settlement. The village now faces a severe water crisis after landslides washed away the main water collection tank and station of motor-pump and pump belonging to Jhiruban Lifting Drinking Water Project.

Although the landslides occurred last Saturday night, there has been no alternative arrangement of drinking water for the villagers. The whole settlement is now relying on water collected from rain harvesting even for drinking purpose.“We can get by with rainwater when it rains. But when it does not rain, we have to walk for an hour to reach the nearest water source,” said Nura Nepal, a local. “We have to allocate hours to fetch water from other places.”The settlement is inhabited by around 70 families, all of whom are facing a severe water crunch for the past one week.

According to Run Bahadur Rana, a motorable road just above the water source collapsed during the rain, triggering landslides. He said that the landslide could have been prevented if proper soil management had been done in the area.Majorsingh KC, chairperson of the Drinking Water Consumer Committee, said the landslide caused a big damage due to which they are not able to fix the problem promptly.“I have already appealed to the stakeholders. If we do not solve the problem at the earliest, villagers will be forced to live a very difficult life,” she said.                                    

Dev Bahadur Rana, ward chairman of Tansen-12, said he is taking initiatives to bring together municipal chief Ashok Kumar Shahi, technical team, and consumer committee to solve the problem of water crisis.