Phalyak, Dharkajung, and Pakling villages of Waragung Mukti Kshetra-5 in Mustang are known as key agricultural hubs. Out of the municipality’s 19 villages, these produce the largest share of apples and sufficient grain, while farmers also grow yams, buckwheat, potatoes, beans, corn, barley, and other vegetables for income.
But farmers in Phalyak and Dharkajung are now struggling with an irrigation crisis. Rising ground temperatures and a lack of timely snowfall—effects linked to climate change—are causing irrigation sources to dry up, leaving locals increasingly worried.
Waragung Mukti Kshetra Rural Municipality Chairperson Ringjin Namgel Gurung said the absence of snowfall in Mustang over the past two years has dried up springs that farmers depend on. “Rain alone does not solve our irrigation problem. We need timely snowfall,” he said, warning that shrinking water sources are leaving once fully irrigated farmland almost barren. “In the past, 100 percent of cultivable land was irrigated. Now, it is hard to irrigate even 10 percent.”
Ward Chairperson Surendra Gurung of Waragung-5 added that the Lumbuk River, which normally swells between June and August, has started to shrink. “Agriculture is the main livelihood here, and it cannot exist without irrigation. The Lumbuk River is our lifeline, but it is drying up instead of rising,” he said. Farmers are now forced to share the limited water on a rotational basis, but even that is becoming unsustainable.
On Saturday, a team of farmers and local representatives inspected the river’s source. Rural Municipality Vice-chairperson Dicky Gurung reported that three springs feeding the Lumbuk River have decreased significantly, with water flow now reduced by nearly two-thirds compared to previous years. “There has been no snowfall for three consecutive winters, which has hit the river badly,” he said.
Local farmers confirm the worsening situation. “We found the water volume much lower than before. If this continues, our settlement could face displacement within a few years,” said Konchok Gurung of Dharkajung. Another farmer, Raju Gurung of Phalyak, noted that where one farmer previously irrigated 25–30 fields, it is now difficult to water even four or five.
Villagers say that adequate snowfall in winter could revive the river through spring meltwater, but snowless peaks have left them without hope. Some residents even performed religious rituals at the Lumbuk cave, praying for the restoration of water sources.
Locals are urging all three levels of government to address the climate-driven crisis by identifying alternative irrigation sources and investing in water management. Without immediate solutions, they fear their farming system—and way of life—will collapse.
