Inadequate drinking water supply woes in Geyzing rural wards

KUSH HANG LEEWANG

GEYZING,: The ongoing dry season and the longstanding issue of inadequate drinking water supply in some wards of Geyzing Nagar Panchayat (GNP) have caused misery for the local residents. Particularly affected are households in rural wards such as Upper Kyongsa and Byadung, where the shortage of proper drinking water supply has become a pressing concern.

Residents in these areas are eagerly awaiting the early implementation of the Jal Jiwan Mission (JJM) initiated by the Central government through the State Rural Development department. While pipeline laying work under JJM is being done in war footing by the concerned department, facilitating water supply is expected to take some time as other aspects of the project are being sorted out.

In Upper Kyongsa and Byadung wards, some households rely on private water supply networks from surrounding sources. However, during the dry season, the volume of water in these sources dwindles.

The villagers feeding on private water supply networks opine that the problem regarding drinking water supply will get a proper redressal once the water supply through JJM is ensured in the areas facing problems.

A resident of Byadung ward shared that rapid population growth has outpaced the capacity of the existing water supply managed by RDD from a source near Pemayangtse monastery.

“Almost 60 households from Byadung ward feed on drinking water supply having capacity of providing water to 20 households which was laid two decades ago. However, with the growth of populations and number of consumers drinking water supply remains inadequate. Managing drinking water sometimes becomes troublesome", the Byadung resident said.

Similarly, residents of Upper Kyongsa rely on supply of water released as part of goodwill from other households having access to drinking water facilities. However, the ongoing dry season and gradual decrease in volume of water supply make it harder for the affected residents to depend upon their neighbourhood for drinking water supply.

Storing water, whenever possible and utilizing stored reserves, has become a common practice among affected households to cope with the scarcity.

Even residents of Geyzing bazaar have felt the impact with a decrease in the quantity and duration of drinking water supply managed by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department. While some attribute this to the decrease in volume of water at the source during the dry season, PHE department's assistant engineer Pradip Subba assured that adequate water supply is being managed with each household receiving water supply for at least an hour every day.

The affected residents are hopeful that the concerned departments will effectively address the longstanding issue of inadequate drinking water supply in the near future.