Cherrapunjee faces water worries

Cherrapunji: If you remember reading about Cherrapunji as the world's wettest place, here's a shocker. Water is becoming more scarce than ever in Cherrapunji. And as Meghalaya gets set to go to polls on Monday, it's become a political issue.

On the rain washed slopes of Cherrapunji it's yet another day of hard labour for David Khonjam and his wife Mary.

Now in their late sixties the couple has tilled their tiny piece of land in what was once world's wettest place.

But in Cherrapunji it doesn't rain like the good old days anymore and David is at pains to find water.

David says, "We are having a hard time these days. The rains don't come like before and I find it very hard to arrange water for my farm. The government needs to do more provide irrigation water for poor farmers like us.”

And some distance away K Sangma has a similar story to tell.

Sangma; a daily wage earner complains that there is never enough water even for household chores leave aside irrigation. He says there is no one to go for a solution.

While the textbooks may still remember Cherrapunji for its rains, for Cherrapunji’s children it's a daily struggle often for a solitary bucket of water and existing pipelines often go dry.

And in recent memory Meghalaya's politicians have not bothered themselves with Cherrapunji irony.

Instead attention has always been on tapping the region's natural resources like coal and mining.

From the wettest place on earth to the driest place in Meghalaya, Cherrapunji’s transition has been ironical. While the lack of rains cannot be helped, politicians of the region have even failed to build an effective public distribution system of water.

In the absence of which residents of Cherrapunji is often left at the mercy of such sources throughout the year.

With elections round the corner in Meghalaya Cherrapunji's waterless plight is also taking a center stage.

United Democratic Party candidate Thwarwelkhai said, “IT is very true especially in this village there is no water facilities. It is lack of responsibility from the ruling party. They don't take any initiative."

And Cherrapunji awaits the initiative - the people here are perhaps coming to terms with a new sobriquet for their land - worlds first wet desert.

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