Dry spell leaves Barak villages parched, residents warn of poll boycott

Silchar: An acute shortage of potable water, driven by an unusually prolonged dry spell, has hit several rural pockets of Assam’s Barak Valley, disrupting daily life, straining agriculture and triggering protests in parts of Cachar district.Residents of Didarkush, Kachudaram and Dudhpatil villages under the Sonai Assembly constituency staged a protest on Tuesday, with women taking to the streets carrying empty pitchers and raising slogans of “Jol nai, vote nai” (No water, no vote).Villagers said the drinking water crisis has persisted for a long time and alleged that repeated appeals to authorities have failed to produce any lasting solution.According to residents, the absence of a reliable water supply has forced many families to travel 7 to 8 kilometres each day to fetch water from the Sonai river for basic household use.

Women, who shoulder most of the burden of collecting water, said conditions have worsened sharply in recent months. Holding empty pots as a symbol of protest, they demanded immediate government intervention to ensure a proper drinking water supply.“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 of the protesting women said.

Villagers warned that if the crisis is not addressed soon, they may boycott the upcoming Assam Assembly elections.Local residents urged the Public Health Engineering department and the district administration to urgently install a permanent drinking water supply system in the affected villages. Officials had not responded to the allegations till the time of filing this report.The crisis has intensified amid an exceptionally dry winter across Assam.

As of early March 2026, the state has 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, has left Assam with just 0.4 mm of rainfall against the normal 39 to 40.2 mm for the same period. As many as 25 districts in the state have reported no rainfall this year.The prolonged lack of rain has also hit agriculture, with high soil moisture stress reported in rabi crops such as rapeseed, potato and maize.

Tea plantations have also seen delayed flushes due to dry and dusty weather.Meteorological officials said light rainfall may occur in isolated areas, with weather patterns expected to shift towards a more active pre-monsoon phase from the second week of March.Experts have warned that beyond the immediate dry spell, the region may be seeing a broader shift in precipitation patterns, raising concerns over the long-term impact on agriculture, water availability and climate stability in Assam.