Dipayal, April 14 -- Dallekh village, located in ward 6 of Sayal Rural Municipality in Doti district, is reeling under acute shortage of drinking water.

Dallekh is home to two settlements comprising 58 families. A rough and unpaved road cuts through the middle. Eighteen Dalit households live above the road and another 40 families reside below in Saunkanda. To make matters worse, more than 500 students of the nearby Himalaya Secondary School also depend on the same limited water source.

All of them-the local residents and students-are forced to rely on a single small water tap, which supplies 10 liters of water every 20 minutes. The water tap, fed by a pipe from a distant hill, is located near the roadside.

Villagers complain that reach...