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.
