Imphal, February 17: Even as more than three months still remain for the expected arrival of monsoon rain, Singngat village, a sub-division headquarters in Churachandpur district is already reeling under a water scarcity so acute that many people are not sure whether they will survive the dry spell this year.

Presently, about 270 families in the village are depending entirely on a twin-water storage tank located at the village-centre for their water needs.

The two tanks, about 8 sq feet in size and about 4 feet in height are fed by water drawn through pipes from Paldai stream, about three kilometers from the village.

The volume of the water flowing in the pipes is however, so low that the tank is not filled even when there is uninterrupted flow the whole night.

Talking to The Sangai Express over the phone from Singngat last night, T Zarual, Chairman of the Development Committee which looks after the water supply in the village said that for equitable distribution of this scarce commodity among the people, the committee has put the tank under lock and is opened only twice a day, in the morning and evening.

Every family is entitled to get only one pot of water each in the morning and evening, he said.

On being asked about the feasibility of ring wells, Zarual said that they had already experimented with it and dug one, but there is no water even upto a depth of 90 feet.

In view of the absence of underground water in the village, efforts are on to explore water supply from an alternate source, Vomkolui stream, but the stream simply dries up in the dry season, he added.

Saying that water shortage has always been a problem in Singngat during the dry season, he added that the State Government now has made some plans for installing more water tanks in the village, but without a proper supply scheme, it will have no meaning.

Other sources said that the people are now scouring for whatever water is available for use in bathing, toilets etc all around the village.

As for washing clothes, some of them had actually collected and sent all their dirty linens to their relatives in Churachandpur, 30 kilometers away to be returned after washing.

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