Gunungkidul villagers face water shortage<\/p>\n
By Bambang M.<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Whenever the dry season starts, villagers in
\nWonosari, Gunungkidul regency, would prefer a pail of water to
\nalmost anything else.<\/p>\n
The rich, however, have no problems since they can simply buy
\nwater. But the poor do not have this luxury. Most of the time,
\nthey have to walk for kilometers or dig holes in dry ponds just
\nfor one or two pails of dirty water.<\/p>\n
Normally, the dry season in the regency begins in May and
\nlasts for about six months. But in some villages situated in
\nhilly and barren land made up mainly of karst stone, the dry
\nseason lasts longer. Sometimes, villagers do not strike water
\neven after digging 10-meter deep wells.<\/p>\n
One of the villages in Wonosari, Plalar, which is located some
\n85 kilometers southeast of Yogyakarta, is now beginning to
\nexperience a water shortage.<\/p>\n
\"The rain stopped for four months and our pond dried up,\" said
\nSuliyanto, a local resident, while trying to extract some water
\nfrom a dry pond.<\/p>\n
Although the pond has dried up, people are still trying to get
\nwater from it by digging deeper and deeper holes. If they are
\nlucky, they can find water two or three meters below the dry
\nsurface of the pond. As a result, one can see numerous holes
\nscattered about the surface of the pond.<\/p>\n
In some of the holes, local children are seen taking baths,
\nplaying about and having fun, seemingly oblivious to the water
\nshortage.<\/p>\n
\"During dry seasons, most adults usually bathe only once a
\nday,\" said Tukiman, another villager.<\/p>\n
Another villager, Suliyanto, proved lucky. After spending
\nhours digging a hole in a dried pond, he came away with 50 liters
\nof brownish water.<\/p>\n
\"I'll use it to wash my family's clothes,\" he said, adding the
\nhis family had enough water for drinking and cooking.<\/p>\n
The man said he was forced to dig in the dried pond for water
\nsince he did not have enough money to buy clean water.<\/p>\n
\"It's too expensive for me to pay Rp 70,000 for 5,000 liters
\nof water,\" Suliyanto said.<\/p>\n
Whenever he can no longer get any water from a particular
\npond, he walks a few more kilometers to find another pond.<\/p>\n
Plalar village is one of the villages in Wonosari where water
\npipes have not been laid by drinking water company PDAM.<\/p>\n
\"We registered to get the water pipes installed last year but
\nthere is no sign it will happen anytime soon,\" said Plalar
\nresident Tukino.<\/p>\n
In order to meet their water needs during the dry season, the
\nvillagers dig holes near their homes to catch whatever rain may
\nfall. Most of them also have little tanks to catch rainwater,
\nwith each tank being able to hold between 3,000 and 5,000 liters
\nof rainwater.<\/p>\n
However, the real problem comes when the dry season lasts
\nlonger than normal, because this supply of rainwater will run
\nout.<\/p>\n
According to a villager, Jakino, only farmers who have enough
\nlivestock can afford to buy clean water. Usually, he said, the
\nfarmers use their livestock as their savings for the dry seasons.
\nWhenever the dry season comes, they will sell their \"savings\" one
\nby one to buy clean water.<\/p>\n
\"Livestock is very valuable for use whenever the dry season
\ncomes,\" said Jakino, who has four cows and four goats ready to
\nsell during this year's dry season.<\/p>\n
During dry seasons, most farmers will not use cows to
\ncultivate their land, hiring people to do the work instead.<\/p>\n
\"We just can't let our cows pull plow in the dry season. They
\nare our savings. Besides, it's also very difficult to find grass
\nand water to feed them,\" said a farmer in Gandu village, some 20
\nkilometers south of Wonosari.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gunungkidul-villagers-face-water-shortage-1447893297",
"image": ""
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