This village in UP's Sidharthnagar district is facing acute water shortage

Raksail village in Sidharthnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, is facing such acute water shortage that their only source of water is the amount of water they manage to load on a tractor trolley from a neighbouring village.

Bordering Nepal in Birdpur Block development area, the village has sixty water taps installed which have run dry due to depleting groundwater level. Moreover, water from even handpumps has stopped coming.

Earlier, the villagers were supplied water through tankers under Kapilvastu Jal Shodh Yojana but it has been years since the villagers last saw the tankers as the Yojana was discontinued.

The villagers are complaining that no one is lending an ear to their problems. They say that they have not received any reply to their letters addressed to their local leaders and also the District Magistrate.

Ramesh, a disgruntled resident from the village said "The water crisis in the village is much worse than Rajasthan. We talked to our local MLA and all he told us was to wait for the rain, the groundwater level will rise and your problem will be solved."

Pawan Kumar Yadav, Executive Engineer, UP Jal Nigam, Sidharthnagar, said that it was only on June 19 that Raksail village's water shortage came to their notice. He also revealed that a junior engineer was sent to the village but the villagers maintain that no one came to visit them.

The population of the village is over 500. The water at a time, taken from the neighbouring village amounts to a meagre 700 litres, a 500 litres water tank and another 200 litres container. The villagers say that this water is used for all their purposes- from drinking to washing clothes to bathing.

Blaming the closure of Kapilvastu Yojana, Yadav added that, "Villages like Raksail were supplied water through Kapilvastu Yojna but its cycle was over."

Yadav, however, said that he has received a request from District Magistrate's office to send them an estimation report so that Kapilvastu Yojana can be re-organised and address the water crisis.

A fact worth noting, however, is that the district has a history of being affected by floods every year, due to incessant rain, causing the increased water level in the river. Despite this, the region is facing a severe water crisis.