A new water source has been identified and will be in place within a year or two

Resource: Water shortage that the people of Dagapela have faced for decades will be solved within the next two years.

More than 150 households in Dagapela are welcoming news that they are getting a new drinking-water source.

Dzongkhag engineer, Jamyang Dorji, said that the Gross National Happiness Commission approved a budget of Nu 50 million to address drinking water scarcity in the area.

“We decided to bring water from Lamichhu, which is about 16km away from Dagapela towards Dagana,” he said.

It was determined that the old source in Jurugang is too small and can dry up in the winter. The entire settlement in Dagapela  currently depends on the source at Jurugang.

“The designers were supposed to come in September but it was deferred due to the elections and they decided to come in October,” he said.

A hotelier in Dagapela town, Kesang, said that drinking water scarcity has existed for decades and that the problem worsens during the winter months.

“I am happy with the news that people residing in Dagapela need not have to worry about drinking water anymore as we are getting a new source,” he said.

He added that a major problem faced by hoteliers is not having enough drinking water.

Some residents can be seen carrying jerry cans early in the morning to fetch water from other houses.

“I came to Dagapela four years back and the drinking water shortage existed since then,” said a resident. “The problem becomes severe in the winter when the source dries up.”

The resident also added that with more buildings coming up and population expanding the water scarcity problem will only worsen if alternate sources are not found.

Officials said that people will have enough drinking water in one to two years.

Yeshey Dema | Dagana