MUGU, May 7: The locals of Karti Gaun, ward no. 4 of Mugum Karmarong Rural Municipality, have been reeling under an acute shortage of drinking water for the past several months.
Water sources fast drying up
The only source of water near the village has dried up and other sources are too far. Asal Bahadur Malla, principal of a local primary school said that the villagers are forced to queue up for hours to fetch a bucket of water. As water is scarce and the villagers get water for cooking and drinking with great difficulty, managing water for defecation is a problem for them. "The villagers are compelled to go to the jungles for defecation as there is no water here," said Malla.
According to the District Drinking Water and Sanitation Sub Division Office (DDWSSDO), efforts are being made to solve the drinking water problem of Karti Gaun. Officials say a budget of Rs 280,000 has been allocated for resolving this problem in the current fiscal year. DDWSSDO aims to make water from a local river available in the village. But as the project will take three years to complete, the locals have urged the office to find an alternative source of water till then. The nearest such source of water is in Dolfu, a village two hours away from Karti on foot.
