Dhankuta residents have been reeling under acute dearth of drinking water due to floods and other monsoon-related disasters of late.

Though a pumping project built in Nibuwakhola at the cost of Rs 260 million about five years ago was said to supply drinking water round-the-clock, flood in the river causes disruption of water supply every year during monsoon.

As a result, people of wards 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Dhankuta Municipality do not get drinking water for months.

Moreover, harmful viruses and bacteria are reportedly found in the water supplied by the project cause diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea, and pneumonia, among others.

Apart from being displaced and battling with the lack of any relief package from the government, Dhankuta residents have to struggle for something as basic as drinking water in the rural terrain.

Children and women are forced to make long perilous journeys to fetch a pot of drinking water.