National
Saptari faces water shortage
Residents of Saptari district have been hit by a shortage of water lately.Groundwater level has dropped after pumping increased in the district over the past few years. The majority of families in Saptari rely on groundwater for both drinking and irrigation purposes.Abdhesh Kumar Jha
Residents of Saptari district have been hit by a shortage of water lately.
Groundwater level has dropped after pumping increased in the district over the past few years. The majority of families in Saptari rely on groundwater for both drinking and irrigation purposes.
Experts said the haphazard destruction in Chure is the main reason why the groundwater level has dropped in Saptari.
“We cannot draw water from the tube-well as we did in the past,” said Satya Narayan Yadav of Topa.
Another local, Khadga Nath Yadav, said, “Even when using the boring system, we are unable to extract sufficient water for irrigation purpose.”
Engineer Shailendra Kumar Jha of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Division Office in Rajbiraj said, “Saptari district has not received sufficient rainfall this year. This has also led to the drop in groundwater level.” He said if the situation continues, Saptari will face an acute shortage of water in 10 years.
Jha also said an ecological imbalance in the district has contributed to the depletion of groundwater.
Most of the rivers and rivulets in the district have started to dry up, and the water level in various ponds has decreased.