People facing acute water shortage in Kalikot

BY PREMRAJ SIMKHADA

Kalikot, Mar. 23: Many settlements in the Himalayan districts continue to reel from  drinking water shortages. Despite annual budget allocations for drinking water projects, these initiatives often fail due to local inaction and weak management. As a result, drinking water projects in the Himalayan districts become shaken or completely shut down within just a few years of their construction.  

In Litakot of Tatopani Rural Municipality-3 in Jumla district, residents have been deprived of drinking water only a few years after the completion of a water supply project. The water shortage has left the people of Litakot in a desperate situation. Even in Tilakot, the municipality’s administrative centre, residents constantly struggle with drinking water scarcity. 

Krishna Hari Acharya, a local of Litakot, shared that they have never been able to use sufficient water throughout the year. About 10 years ago, drinking water was brought to the village from a  source located uphill. However, over time, cattle herders cut the pipelines at multiple locations, disrupting the  supply. With no budget allocated for repairs, the water supply eventually stopped. To maintain the  supply system, each household contributes a monthly fee of Rs. 100 and a caretaker has been appointed. However, people frequently cut the water pipes  at their convenience, further worsening the situation.

Visitors coming to the rural municipality for various purposes and staying at local hotels have no choice but to rely on water from the Tatopani spring or the Tilakot River for washing their hands and faces. Dipesh Acharya, a resident of Jumla’s Sinja, who has been living in a rented house in Litakot for a year, expressed his frustration, saying that there never was running water in his house. He and others in the village are forced to fetch drinking water and wash clothes at the riverbank. Since the entire village has only one large public tap, people often have to wait in long queues for their turn to collect potable  water. Litakot has over 300 households, yet the water crisis remains unresolved.  

As the municipal headquarters, Litakot is home to hotels, a police station and offices of various non-governmental organisations. With the growing population, the drinking water crisis has worsened, severely impacting daily life. Former chairperson of Tatopani Rural Municipality, Navaraj Neupane, stated that while efforts were made to manage drinking water during his tenure, the situation has deteriorated again. 

He said that the project was completed 11 years ago and requesting for a new project is not reasonable . He also pointed out that since locals themselves cut water pipes  to suit their own needs, they are responsible for the problems they now face.

The area has a dual settlement pattern, where locals often divert drinking water pipelines for various purposes, such as giving a bath to livestock and irrigating apple orchards. While they create problems for themselves, their actions also affect traders and government employees residing in the area, forcing them to endure water shortages as well. 

Neither the government nor the local residents have shown much concern about Litakot’s drinking water crisis. Local resident Ashok Neupane remarked that if people had considered it an urgent issue, they would have demanded a new project and taken steps to protect the existing water supply.  

Despite the contamination of upstream water sources, locals continue to rely on Tilakot River water for sanitation and spring water for drinking. 

This apparent adaptation has led to a lack of urgency among residents. However, during the winter season, the situation becomes extremely difficult. Freezing temperatures make it impossible to use river water and with no access to spring water, securing drinking water remains a major challenge for the people of Litakot.