”No one comes here to ask us about anything. Nor have we gone to tell them that there is such a problem. Whatever is happening is going on,” says Dhansingh Chepang.
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The roof of the house is not waterproof, there is a ditch in the village but no water comes in. An elderly couple from Lothar Kanda, a remote hill village in Chitwan, have made arrangements for drinking water. But how will they cover the roof? They say there is no way.
At least six houses in this village in the Kaminchuli foothills of Chitwan face drinking water problems as winter sets in.
Dhansingh Chepang is 70 years old. His wife Thulimaya is also the same age. Dhansingh's left palm is wrinkled, so his fingers cannot move properly. They say it is difficult to hold and hold. Thulimaya, who had gone to the forest to graze cows, brought water in a plastic bottle. 'There is a farmer who will sow corn tomorrow. That's all the water that is needed.' She said she went to the forest to get it.
She cannot always go to the forest. That is why she says she has to go to the lower village and fill it with water. She is forced to walk back and forth for at least half an hour to get water for drinking and cooking. Like Dhansingh and Thulimaya, their neighbors Gopiram Chepang, Nir Bahadur Chepang, Ram Bahadur Chepang, Resham Chepang and Buddhi Kumar Chepang have also had to manage their water in the same way.
The roof of the shed in front of Dhansingh's small house is almost empty. In the left shed, the corn grown in the garden is dug up. The corn sown at this time in the garden ripens after Bhadau. Once upon a time, after Chaitum, the Chepang community had to find and eat forest tubers, yams, and yams. Now, there is no famine like before. But Dhansingh says that even yams need to be collected.
'This place is at the foot of the mountain. The wind blows like a house. The water is scarce. We have been drinking water from the mains pipe until winter. After Magh, not a drop of drinking water falls from Falgun. We have to carry bottles and wander around in search of water,' said Buddhi. This place is in Ward No. 13 of Rapti Municipality. Even though it is in the municipality, the road has not reached electricity. Drinking water is so scarce.
'When will the road to the village come, I don't even imagine that it will come during our stay. I have heard that an electricity pole has come down. I don't think electricity will come to this place anytime soon. The road and electricity are beyond the talk, it is not easy to quench your thirst here,' said Dhansingh. When their children grew up, they left the place and settled in Lakhapakha. Dhansingh and Thulimaya could not leave their old home. 
'Wherever we go, there is such a lake,' said Dhansingh. Good crops do not grow well on barren land. He has not even been able to raise goats and chickens to sell. There is no income to earn like that. He said that the wind and rain that hit the grass after cutting will not allow it to last long. Dhansingh's village, located to the north of Bharatpur, the headquarters of Chitwan, is located on the edge of the mountains and forests bordering Dhading.
After walking for about three hours on a mountain road from Bhandara on the East-West Highway, one has to walk for at least another three hours to reach Dhansingh's village. No leader reaches this village, which is reached through a narrow uphill and downhill path. 'No one comes here to ask about us. Nor have we gone to tell them that there is such a problem. Whatever is going on,' said Dhansingh.
