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Nima Bohora
Kumakh 7, Salyan
From the outside, the village looks beautiful. You can see lush forests, green trees, fresh air and water flowing everywhere. Because these resources have not been properly utilized we have not been able to enjoy the benefits. And living here is not as easy as it looks. Because there has been no sustainable solutions too address the problems we face in a daily basis, a lot of our efforts go into fixing the same problems over and over again. It has been going on for a long time and I think it is time we change the way we do things.
Take the pipes as an example. There is a water tank near the source where water get stored. From there the water comes to the tank nearby through a network of pipes. The problem starts from the source because it is not well maintained and protected. The pipe connecting the source to the water tank gets blocked every time there is rain and if it is not cleaned. There are leaves, branches and mud that block it. When that happens the tank near the water source cannot fill up. And then the tank nearby, from where the water is distributed to our village, is empty.
There is another problem with the pipes. From the tank near the source to the tank here, there is a long network of pipes. And there are people who do not understand that breaking these pipes, disconnecting them at will, render an entire community water less. There are herders who go into the forests. They get thirsty and just disconnect the pipes, drink the water and leave it. Some times they even dig up the pipes to do so. And then there are some households who cut the pipes and divert the water from where it is supposed to go to their own homes.
When the water stops running, the reason is oneof thee two things. It could be the pipe in the source that got blocked or someone has cut the pipes in one or more places. When that happens, we gather and go to try to fix it.
We have called meetings and we have requested everyone not to cut and disconnect pipes. We told everyone that one small individual act of selfishness can affect an entire community – the elderly, the children, the persons with disability and women who live there.
Everyone nodded there head and seemed to understand. For now, we use hollow bamboo stub to reconnect pipes that has been cut. There are hundred of such stubs from the tank near the source to the tank here. And they are not durable. Every month or two we have to replace them because they biodegrade.
Until and unless people realize their mistake and change, a long lasting change seems distant.
निमा बोहोरा
कुमाख ७, सल्यान
बाहिरबाट हेर्दा सबै राम्रै देखिन्छ । घना जंगल छ, हरिया रुखहरु छन्, स्वछ पानी छ, अनि खुला आकाश । तर यी प्राकृतिक सम्पदा सहि रुपले प्रयोग नभएकाले गर्दा हामीले यसको फाइदा लिन पाएका छैनौँ । हेर्दा सजिलो देखिए पनि यहाँ बस्न सजिलो छैन । समुदायका दैनिक समस्याहरुलाई दिगो रुपले समाधान गर्ने पहल भएको छैन । जसका कारण पुरानै समस्याहरु हल गर्दा नै हाम्रो दिन र परिश्रम खेरा गइरहेको छ । यसरी नै धेरै समय बितिसक्यो र मलाई लाग्छ अब नयाँ ढंगले काम गर्ने बेला आएको छ ।
उदाहरणको लागि पाइपको कुरा गरौँ । पानीको मुहानको नजिकै एउटा ट्याङ्की छ जहाँ पानी जम्मा हुन्छ । त्यो पानी पाइपबाट यहाँ भएको ट्याङ्कीसम्म आउँछ। समस्या माथि मुहानबाट नै सुरु हुन्छ । माथिको मुहान सुरक्षित छैन । भल आउँदा मुहानसँग जोडिएको पाइप बुझिन्छ । पात पतिङ्गर माटोले गर्दा पनि पाइप बुझिन्छ । अनि ट्याङ्की भरिन पाउँदैन जसका कारण हामी नजिकको ट्याङ्की जहाँबाट घरघरमा पानी जान्छ, त्यो रित्तै रहन्छ ।
भलको समस्या त छँदै छ, पाइपको पनि समस्या हामीले भोग्नुपर्छ । माथिको ट्याङ्कीबाट तलको ट्याङ्कीसम्म पानी ल्याउन लामो पाइपहरु जडान गरिएको छ । अनि कोहि मान्छेहरु यो कुर बुझ्दैनन् कि पाइप चुडाउनु हुँदैन र त्यसो गर्दा सारा समुदाय पानी बिहिन हुन्छ । कोहि ग्वालाहरु हुन्छन्, कोहि ठिटा केटाहरु अनि उनीहरुलाई प्यास लागेपछि पाइप चुडाउँछन् अनि यतिकै छाडेर हिड्छन् । कहिलेकाहीँ त खनेर उखेलेर पनि चुडाउँछन् । अनि समुदायमै केहि घरहरु छन् जो आफ्नो अवश्यकता पुरा गर्न पाइप काटेर आफ्नो घरतिर पानी लान्छन् । एक जनाले यसो गर्दा धेरैले दुःख भोग्नु परिरहेको हुन्छ ।
जब पानी बन्द हुन्छ हामी कि भलले मुहानको ट्याङ्की बुजियो कि कसैले फेरि पाइप काट्यो भनेर बुझे हुन्छ । अनि हामी मिलेर पाइप जोड्न दौडिनुपर्छ ।
हामीले सबैलाई भेला गरेर यो विषयमा कुरा पनि उठाएकाछौँ र सबैलाई पाइप नचुडाउन अनुरोध पनि गरेका छौँ । एकजनाको सानो स्वार्थले कसरी समुदाय, त्यहाँ बस्ने बुढाबुढीहरु बच्चाहरु, अपाङ्गता भएका व्यक्तिहरु र महिलाहरु प्रभावित हुन्छ भनेर पनि बुझाएका छौँ ।
सबैले टाउको हाल्लाएर बुझे झैँ गरे । अहिलेका लागि हामीले चुडिएका पाइपहरु जोड्न बाँसका ठेउला प्रयोग गर्ने गरेका छौँ । यस्ता ठेउला माथि ट्याङ्कीदेखि तल ट्याङ्कीसम्म सयौँ ठाउँमा छन् । एकदुई महिनामा यि ठेउलाहरु कुहिएर जाने हुनाले फेरिरहनुपर्छ ।
जस्तो परियोजना आए पनि मान्छेहरुले आफ्नो गल्ती नसुधारेसम्म दिगो परिवर्तन सम्भव छैन।
