S/Jongkhar residents face dry spell for a week now

With the temperature soaring every day, Samdrup Jongkhar residents are in dire need of water. The residents of upper Samdrup Jongkhar town have been struggling with acute shortage of drinking water for a week now.

The water taps and tanks in Samdrup Jongkhar, however, are running dry. The people have run out of whatever they had stored in their tanks.

People are carrying water in their vehicles while those who don’t have cars are spending hours every day travelling to the pond, waiting in queue and carrying water.

Sonam Tobgay, a resident at Samdrup Jongkhar, said that without water it is difficult to maintain cleanliness and hygiene. “During summer especially when the heat is on, it is difficult to survive without water.”

Another resident said that for the few days she has been fetching water from her neighbor’s tank. “But now her water tank has also run out of water and without water it is difficult to maintain cleanliness.”

Similarly, another resident said that, although they face water problems for one to two days, it has worsened this time with no water for about a week. “It would be helpful if the thromde could fix the problem soon.”

Meanwhile, officials from the thromde said that the water problem in the locality is not new.

Thromde officials said that continuous water supply is disrupted because landslides wash away the pipes when there is heavy rain. The pipelines are located on hilly areas. “We are supplying water through our two tankers even after office hours,” said an official.

Meanwhile, the officials said that the thromde’s water treatment plant is under construction. Once the project is complete, the thromde hopes to supply sufficient and clean water to all the residents.

Jigme Wangchen from Samdrup Jongkhar