Humla Village Faces Water Crisis as Road Construction Dries Up Local Springs

Residents of Baulyana in Tanjakot Rural Municipality-1, Humla, are dealing with a severe drinking water crisis after local water sources reportedly dried up during road construction. With springs disrupted by heavy machinery, villagers and students now have to walk long distances to Pumkhola and Kandagaun just to collect water.

Local resident Milan Khadka said the shortage has become part of daily life, forcing people to spend valuable hours fetching water instead of focusing on work or study. The impact is especially harsh on students, who are carrying water alongside school responsibilities and losing time and energy in the process.

The situation highlights a common problem in remote mountain regions: infrastructure development can bring connectivity and economic opportunity, but it can also damage fragile local water systems if environmental safeguards are weak. In Baulyana, the drying of natural springs has turned a basic necessity into a daily challenge.

Students are paying the highest price

For school-age children, the water shortage is more than an inconvenience. It adds physical strain to already difficult routines and makes it harder to attend classes regularly. When students must walk for water before or after school, education becomes another casualty of the crisis.

That burden is compounded by the geography of Humla, where settlements are spread out and access to services is already limited. In such conditions, losing a nearby spring can quickly become a community-wide emergency.

A reminder of how fragile mountain water systems can be

Mountain communities often depend on small springs and seasonal flows that are highly sensitive to disturbance. Once those sources are damaged or diverted, recovery can be slow, and residents may be left with few immediate alternatives. Similar water stress has been reported in other parts of Humla, showing that this is not an isolated problem but part of a broader vulnerability in the district.

The Baulyana case underscores the need for development that accounts for local water security. Roads and other infrastructure can be important, but in places like Humla, protecting springs and drainage patterns is just as critical as building the road itself.

For now, villagers in Baulyana are left with a simple but exhausting routine: walk farther, carry more, and hope the water returns.