BATTAGRAM: Despite good amount of rain and snowfall that lashed Battagram district recently the residents are still facing severe water shortage.

Natural springs, the only water source for the district’s rural population, have dried up, forcing locals to fetch water from distant places. In the mountain villages, women have to bring water for domestic use, travelling long distances.

Due to prolonged dry spell, the water table has dropped considerably in the district, causing severe water shortage in several localities, and people were expecting that water scarcity would end after recent rain spell and snowfall, but that did not raise the water table.

The people pointed out that in the last two decades it was the first time they confronted water shortage.

Fazlur Rehman, a social activist, told Dawn the pumps could not draw water because the water table had gone down. The people said their house-based wells had almost gone dry, adding it was difficult for them to meet their domestic water needs.

Hameedullah, a resident of Deshan area, said for fulfilling their routine water needs they brought the commodity from Nendyar River, which had also almost gone dry.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2017