Water and food scarcity has become a way of life for these tribal people as the only source of water Tishir Khola is located at a distance of several hours. To add to their woes, even this water source is drying up gradually, said Tek Bahadur Chepang, the eldest member of the group. The river is also the only source of water for locals of the neighboring Lothar village of Chitwan and Khairang VDC of Makwanpur.[break]
“If one misses to reach the river early morning, there isn´t enough water left,” said 70 years old Tek. The Chepang village of 25 households is located at an altitude of 1,900 meters and the Prithivi Highway is a 6-hour walk from the village.
Dil Maya Chepang, a member of the group, said her morning hours are wasted in fetching water from the river. “If I leave around 4 in the morning, I reach the river at around 10. And if I am lucky enough my turn comes after waiting for another hour or so,” she said.
“It is only during the rainy season that we heave a sigh of relief. The rest of the year is a challenge we have been living for years now,” added Dil.
Food shortage is another problem that ails this community. Though they grow crops, drought deals yet another blow to them. “Last year, the drought left us with no foods. Most of the families then survived on forest yams for a month,” said Tek.
“Half of our earnings depend on the livestock we rear and they need plenty of water,” said another local Babu Dil Bahadur Chepang.
Meanwhile, former representative of the community Siddhi Bahadur Chepang shared that supplying water to the village is a daunting task and requires a huge amount of money. “Supplying the water uphill is very difficult. However, we have urged the government to make life easier for this community,” said Siddhi.
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