Golatar village is between Ninda and Telpani rivers. There are about 150 families living in this village in Chure area. The river flows east and west of the village. However, there is a shortage of drinking water in the village and the arable land has become barren. There is no water in the river here, the fields along the banks have become horrible ruins due to lack of irrigation.

This village, located in the north of Mechinagar-3, had no shortage of water until about 10-12 years ago. Paddy grew in dry season, corn, mustard and wheat were cultivated in winter. Telpani river used to have water all year round. Where the village was green with irrigation . "After the earthquake in 1972, the water in the spring disappeared, and the crops stopped growing in the village," says Prem Acharya of Mechinagar-3 Golatar. It has been more than eight years since the field was left barren.' According to him, there was a water source at the border of Rong Rural Municipality-5 and 6 at a place called Bhalu Khop. From where water supply to the entire village was brought.

Now the water source is disappearing in Bhalu Khop and the oil water flowing from the mountain wall has dried up. As a result, more than 50 bigha fields on the banks of the Telpani River have become unusable, and a situation has arisen in the village about the issue of water. Local Khagendra Poudel feels like it was yesterday that winter crops were planted by taking water from Telpani river. Pointing to the dried-up Telpani river, he says, 'From November until the rains, there is no water in the river, because there is no water, there is no production, so there is no need to plant crops.' 

Excavation in Timai River. Photo Courtesy : Narayan Dahal

 During work like making road on the hill, building various structures, the dozer ran . Locals understand that when the dozer runs, the water springs on the mountain walls are disturbed and the water is disappearing from the springs. The Madan Bhandari Highway has been built through the southern boundary of this village. They say that even during the construction of this highway connecting east-west through Chure-Tarai, dozers were used several times and many trees were cut down, causing disturbances in the water source. In the village where one and a half hundred families live, water comes once a day.

Gobindpur drinking water consumer and sanitation organization has been formed by the local people who have sadly cut off the drinking water supply . "That water also comes once a day at 7-8 in the morning, by that time you have to get the water you need," says Paudel, "I don't know how long that water will come, if the situation is like this, where will you have to go to find water next year?" Don't know .'

The Telpani river dried up in winter where there was no water until 7-8 years ago, the whole village depended on it for irrigation. Photo: Navraj Subedi/Kantipur  

Poudel remembers, around 2052, the spring water used to grow in the middle of the village. At that time, the entire village depended on the spring water, including drinking water and washing clothes, there was no shortage of water in the village. But, time was changing . Now, the land where the water grows is in a barren condition. Buddhashanti-4 has 13 tolls in Jhodai. Boring was not the same here in Chure area till 10 years ago .

Timai river used to form a spring on the mountain wall which is about 5 km north of the village. The river which was the source of irrigation for the local people was getting enough water from the spring in Timaim to the whole village . "Excessive exploitation has increased in the Chure region, the Timai river has been deepened to extract stones and gravel". If the river became deep, water stopped flowing from the mountain wall when the river was exploited,' says local Prakash Samsohang, 'the village that depends on the water from the spring has come to depend on man-made borings.' According to him, there is no water in the Timai river now. Due to which there was no irrigation.

Due to the indiscriminate exploitation of water, the villages of Buddhashanti-4 such as Targade, Banjokhet, Sattabharna, Guransbasti, Panighatta are forced to suffer direct water shortage, while the villages of Kingring Danda, Ayabari, Babritar and others of Buddhashanti-5 are also facing problems due to lack of water . According to local Samsohang, the locals have also submitted a petition to the district administration office with the demand to stop over-exploitation in the Chure area. Locals say that there is no water in the winter and the rivers are dry and the floods cause damage in the dry season. 

Illegal quarrying of stone, gravel, sand is going on in Chure area without permission . Locals complain that it has affected water sources and is causing flooding and erosion problems during monsoons. During the construction of Madan Bhandari Highway and other rural roads passing through the upper part of Arjundhara municipality, dozers were used several times and the cutting of trees in the forest is still going on. Khadgmaya Parajuli, deputy head of Arjundhara Municipality, says that the drying up of water sources and the loss of water in the rivers are the effects of climate change. Asserting that there is no unauthorized mining in Chure area, she says, "It is a different thing that some people steal and extract illegal mining, which is not being stopped." However, there is no question of mining in the Chure area by making a procedural contract . The municipality doesn't do that.'

The water spring of Timai River has dried up. Photo Courtesy: Prakash Samsohang

President of Buddhshanti Rural Municipality Manoj Prasai also claims that there is no water supply. Saying that the water level is decreasing, he says that the municipality will never exploit the Chure area. If so, why is there a water crisis in Chure area? Vijay Kumar Singh, who has studied about Chure, says that the increase in human settlement in Chure, which is a forest area, mining in Chure hills, cutting of trees, and forest destruction during cultivation have created the situation of water scarcity.