Shaanxi refutes two villages lifted out of poverty face water shortage

Water sources in two villages of Luonan county of Shaanxi province can guarantee villagers' daily use of drinking water, said the poverty alleviation bureau of Luonan county on Saturday, in response to a report by China Central Television that villagers are still short of drinking water after being lifted out of poverty, BJNews reported on Sunday.

Investigation panels were immediately dispatched to the villages to carry out all-around investigation on Friday evening after CCTV reported on the same day (Friday) that villagers in Shanghe village and Sanxing village of Lingkou town are facing drinking water problems, with water facilities not in place, according to the Provincial Information Office of Shaanxi Province.

The current drinking water problems in the two villages are caused by seasonal shortage of water, but water sources in the two villages are able to guarantee villagers' daily use of drinking water, as per the initial investigation results.

Villagers went to other places outside of the villages to get water, reported CCTV, because they need more water to irrigate tobacco fields and build houses.

Luonan county is located in a mountainous area. It was removed from the list of poor counties in last February. Ensuring the safety of drinking water is the bottom line for the county's poverty alleviation work, according to the central government's requirement on its poverty alleviation work.