Indrika Dunuwar and other women in her village spend the most part of their days searching for water these days.

After the water source in Dakaha Bazaar in Dudhauli Municipality-4, Sindhuli, dried up a few months ago, they scoured every possible source of water around their settlement, albeit without any success.

These days, the women hike a long distance every day in search of water. They carry water jars with them in case they come across a water source, which has not happened so far.

“We haven’t been able to do anything else in the last few months,” Danuwar said.

People in the area say the water sources and wells dried up because of prolonged drought. They relied on Tamarni stream for their water need in the initial days, when some of the well-springs had not yet parched.

Today, it is almost impossible to get a jar of water from the stream.

More than 2,000 households from Dakaha Bazaar, Banghara, Nayabazaar, Bairaha, Ekhatiya, Jutpani and Pachrukhi started getting their water from the stream after every well-spring in the area dried up.

Some people say construction of roads and other infrastructure without considering their impacts on the environment also contributed to drying up of water sources in the area. They are pinning hope on this year’s monsoon to regenerate the well-springs.   

Drought has also parched the water sources in Wards 1 and 2 of Dudhauli Municipality. The situation here may not be as desperate as in Ward 4, but the people are forced to drink murky water drawn from the Kamala river. “We are getting our water from Kamala River because the wells and taps in our villages have gone dry. The water from the river is dirty and full of sediments. It could be harmful to our health, but we have no option,” said Pannilal Kumar, of Ratanpur village in Dudhauli-2.