An acute shortage of drinking water driven by an unusually long dry spell has left several villages in Assam’s Barak Valley without reliable supply, disrupting daily life, damaging crops and triggering protests in Cachar district. On Tuesday, residents of Didarkush, Kachudaram and Dudhpatil in the Sonai Assembly constituency marched with empty pitchers, with women leading chants of “Jol nai, vote nai” (No water, no vote) to press for immediate relief.
Villagers said the crisis is chronic and that repeated appeals to local authorities have failed to produce a lasting fix. Many families now walk seven to eight kilometres daily to fetch water from the Sonai river for basic household needs, they said. “We have informed the authorities several times, but no permanent arrangement has been made. Every day we have to walk long distances to the river just to collect water for our households,” one protester said.
Protesters warned they may boycott the upcoming Assam Assembly elections if the shortage is not addressed. Local residents have urged the Public Health Engineering department and the district administration to install a permanent drinking-water system in the affected villages. Officials had not responded to the allegations by the time this report was filed.
The shortage has intensified amid an exceptionally dry winter across Assam. As of early March 2026, the state had recorded a 99% rainfall deficit since January 1, according to India Meteorological Department data. The dry spell, which began around the second week of November 2025, left Assam with just 0.4 mm of rainfall against a normal 39–40.2 mm for the same period; 25 districts have reportedly recorded no rain so far this year.
The prolonged lack of rainfall has also stressed rabi crops such as rapeseed, potato and maize, while tea gardens have experienced delayed flushes because of dry, dusty conditions. Meteorological officials said light rain may fall in isolated pockets and that weather patterns are expected to shift toward a more active pre‑monsoon phase from the second week of March. Experts warned the episode could signal broader shifts in precipitation patterns, raising long‑term concerns for agriculture, water security and climate stability in the region.
Original Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/dry-spell-leaves-barak-villages-parched-residents-warn-of-poll-boycott/articleshow/129397876.cms
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Publish Date: 2026-03-10 18:32:00
