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| Drying sources lead
to water crisis |
The acute shortage of drinking water in the the villages of Dhalli
panchayat and its adjoining localities has thrown the life of residents
out of gear for the past many days.
The residents of these areas complain that they have been experiencing
water shortage for the past two decades, but nothing has been done
so far. The most affected villages are Tarapur, Dhogogi, Kolu jubber,
Patengali, Chhanawat and Kailty.
The residents, particularly women, are forced to walk at least
2 km to fetch water from nearby natural sources which have also
started drying up. "The problem has been increasing every day
as the natural water sources are drying up" say the villagers.
Mr C.R. Garg, Pardhan of the Dhalli panchayats said that the
local nullah is the main water source for these villages. With the
advent of summer even the traditional water sources have started drying
up.
These villages have been facing the scarcity of water for past many
years. Pipelines have been laid to fetch water from other water
sources and hand pumps have been installed, but they are not enough.
"We are forced to drink dirty water of the nullah which is
an invitation for diseases." said a villager.
Admitting the shortage of water, the Urban Development Minister,
Mr Roop Das Kashyap, who belongs to this area, said that hand pumps
had been installed which would solve the problem. They would also
ask the Municipal Corporation to provide water to these villages,
he said.
Meanwhile, development work in these villages on the outskirts
of Shimla has come to a stand still. "The government has neglected
our villages in all type of development activities," says a
resident of Kailty. Villagers allege that they have urged their
political representative in this regard several times, but all their
representations have fallen on deaf ears.
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