Residents of this Mandi village without water for 20 days

MANDI: The residents of Teen Peepal village under Syog panchayat near Pandoh in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh have been struggling for every drop of water for the past 20 days.

Despite numerous complaints and visits by villagers to the Jal Shakti Vibhag, no action has been taken by the department, forcing hundreds of residents to fetch water from sources that are at least 5 km away from their village.

Having around 200 houses and a population of over 500, Teen Pipal village has not only one but three water schemes, but all have dried out. Local residents Sushila Pathak, Ramesh Chand and Rita Devi said that they had been grappling with this issue for the past 20 days. “Not a single drop is coming in our taps and we have to fetch water from a considerable distance. We have appealed to the department for a solution to this pressing problem,” they said.

Panchayat committee member Khem Singh said that there are three water schemes intended to serve Teen Peepal village. A hand pump was installed in 1997 and water was extracted using a motor, which also supplied water to nearby areas. However, this hand pump source has since dried up.

Additionally, schemes managed by the BBMB and the Jal Shakti Department for this area have also failed. They have appealed to the department to supply water through tankers until a permanent solution is found.

This crisis is part of a larger issue affecting the entire Mandi district, which has been experiencing record-breaking summers. The intense heat and lack of rainfall have led to a severe water scarcity in many areas.

Natural water sources such as hand pumps and streams have dried up, exacerbating the problem. The gravity-based schemes, designed to rely on natural water flow, are also ineffective due to the drought conditions. The unprecedented heatwave has not only dried up existing water sources but has also impeded efforts to replenish them, leaving many villages in a dire situation.

The scorching heat and lack of rain have created a desperate scenario for many residents. Without adequate water supply, daily life has become a struggle, with basic needs such as drinking water and sanitation severely impacted.

The villagers are calling for immediate intervention from authorities to provide relief through alternative water supply methods, such as tanker deliveries, until the situation improves. The people have also been praying for timely rains to alleviate the distress and restore normalcy in their lives.