Maram Khullen villagers construct own water supply scheme
Source: The Sangai Express

Maram Khullen (Senapati), June 28 2009: "All the women in this village get up at 3 am and go to fetch water from a natural spring located about 1 km away.

If late, they may not get any water," said Kanga Jacintha, a villager of Maram Khullen .

However, after a water supply scheme has been recently constructed by the villagers themselves, the problem of water has been lessened to a certain extent, she added.

Located along Maram-Peren Road, Maram Khulen is a small village of 615 houselds in Senapati district.

Apart from situating 1200 metre above sea level, scarcity of water not only for cooking and drinking but also for other daily household chores has been a perenial problem faced by every household in the village.

Search for water sources is another ordeal that villagers could not escape from all these years.

Maram Khullen villagers at the water supply scheme

In such a situation, every women in the village have been getting up at 3 o'clock in the morning and heading for the nearest water source, which is a natural spring in a gorge located 1 km, to fetch water.

If they reach late, the poor women may return home empty handed.

This is what Jacinta was alluding to.

In view of shortage of water, the villagers have also been going to Barak river for bathing and washing their cloths.

But not anymore now after construction of a water supply scheme by the villagers themselves.

While recounting the problem of water shortage that the villagers and more particularly the womenfolk used to face earlier, Jacinta said when the first water supply was received in the village the womenfolk scrambled for the tap to drink the water.

There is also an interesting story behind the construction of the present water supply scheme in the village.

When officials of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) came to the village for survey and asked the villagers what they want most for their home village, the answer was simple and unanimous a water supply scheme.

Half-hearted efforts have been made by the department concerned of the State Government in the past with the stated objective of providing water to the villagers.

But as expected, nothing had come out of such half-hearted efforts.

It had remained just a wishful dream.

Accordingly, with funding of Rs 22 lakhs from IFAD and contribution of Rs 7 lakhs from the village and another Rs 6 lakhs from MLA, MP and DRDA, construction of the scheme began in 2003 .

Over and above their monetary contributions of Rs 7 lakhs, the villagers have also provided the needed labour and materials for the project.

The water source of the project was also located after a long search of even spending nights in jungle at a place 13 kms away from the village.

It is just a tiny spring at Poklam along Punghu Range.

Forgetting their own sufferings, the villagers have spend over two years in construction of a footpath from the water source upto to the project site with the help of an altimeter (an instrument that measures the height above ground) provided by PHED.

To make a footpath along the difficult terrain was such a great risk.

Yet the villagers did not care even if they have to dangle from cliff with the help of a rope tied around their waist just for the sake of water.

The joy of the villagers on completion of the water supply scheme and its final commissioning on September 23 last year was something that would be remembered forever, Jacintha said, adding grand feasting were organised and there was an air of festivity in the village on that day.

Even if there is no tap water connection in all the households, the villagers can now have easy access to water from the reservoir of the project.

However, whether the water tapped from the tiny spring that is also subject to the changing weather pattern is enough or not in meeting the requirement of the ever expanding village and its growing population, is still a big question.

To ensure adequate provision for water supply all the year round, the villagers have pointed out the need for tapping another water source located about 6 kms that could be fed to the main pipe of the water supply scheme.