July 10, 2006	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 13, 1427

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PESHAWAR, July 9: People affected by floods which hit several villages of Nowshera district in summer last year are forced to live on contaminated drinking water drawn from subsoil water sources.

“Ever since the flood hit our area in June last year, there is no end to children and women getting affected by malaria and typhoid due to the poor quality of drinking water,” said Wisal Mohammed, nazim of the Chowki Town, which was among the areas worst hit by the flood.

He accused the district government of doing nothing to solve the problem.

People, he said, had no other choice but to rely on wells which had been contaminated by the floodwater.

About 30 villages were affected by the Kabul river flood. More than 1,370 houses were destroyed and over 120 damaged. About 10,000 acres of cultivated land was inundated and numerous animal sheds were damaged causing huge losses to the farming community.

Nowshera Kalan union council nazim Malik Juma Khan complained that people in several flood-affected areas had no alternative but to use water unfit for human consumtion.

“I have not yet recovered from gastroenteritis that I contracted after drinking contaminated water,” said Faqeer Mohammed, 56, a resident of Misal Abad.

According to environmentalists, Kabul river water is unfit for human consumption because of toxic industrial wastes discharged into various channels.

Mehdi Hussain of Misal Abad said that a non-governmental organisation had installed 12 pumping machines to help villagers get potable drinking water after floodwater receded. However, the plan did not fulfil the required objective.

“They did not dig deep and as a result people are getting brackish water and nobody is using it,” said Hassan Akhtar.