Hand pumps are dry, even deep borewells no longer provide enough water

Experts blame the worsening crisis in Kailali to declining rainfall, urban expansion, loss of natural recharge zones and the destruction of the Chure range.

By the time the summer sun rises over Dhangadhi, the search for water has already begun. Across parts of Kailali in Nepal’s farwest, families wake before dawn to queue at the few remaining functional hand pumps (shallow tube wells) or walk to neighbouring villages carrying empty containers. As prolonged drought, extreme heat, and falling groundwater levels dry up wells that once flowed year-round, access to drinking water has become a daily struggle.