PESHAWAR, May 10: The southern region of the Frontier province is facing an acute shortage of drinking water and the government has no scheme to ensure that this basic need of the people is met. The problem has become severe because of depletion of the sub-soil water resources, sources said, adding that residents of a small village along the Indus Highway in Karak district dug a well to overcome the problem. However, despite drilling as deep as 120 feet they failed to find water.

However, villagers did not give up, they started drilling at a place 500 metres away. However, this time too their efforts failed to bear fruit.

All open wells in village Hafizabad have either dried up or turned brackish over the past few years, creating problems for villagers, especially women and children who have to walk several kilometres daily to bring water for domestic needs.

“The first drilling was undertaken on the advice of local experts who were of the opinion that a sizable source of subsoil water existed in the area, but we could not find water even after drilling for a week and spending a huge amount,” said Guldad Khan, a community leader.

For the second attempt, villagers invited people from nearby areas to help them detect a potential site for water well. They bore for over 100 feet but the water they found turned out to be too little to meet their needs. Still they have not abandoned hope; they are pooling money to drill yet another well to resolve the problem of drinking water shortage in the area.

Akhtar Gul, a villager, said that drilling of two wells had cost people a huge amount but their problem remained unsolved. They had collected Rs5,000 from every house to meet the cost of drilling. Now they might stop making any more attempts as some villagers had expressed their inability to dole out more money for the purpose.

Local experts use a primitive method to spot underground water. They take two zinc wires of the same size and bend them at one end. Then they hold the bended ends in hands and walk over the ground slowly, carrying the wires parallel to each other. When the wires are attracted to each other it is taken for an indication that there exists water beneath the ground. Most people use this method before they dig a well. However, of late, they have begun doubting the reliability of the method as on many occasions it failed to detect a viable source of water.

Sabir Mohammad, an Afghan refugee, who has been drilling wells in the district for the past 17 years, said the wire method was highly unreliable as on many occasions it failed to correctly point out presence of water.

A watchman in the area, Momin Gul, said the water problem had become worse over the past few years. Earlier, wetlands and natural springs existed in the vicinity of the village but they had dried up, he observed.

“Now, we are attempting a third bore and pray that this time we succeed,” he said.

Haji Adil Khan, a daily wage earner, said the government should develop a scientific method to detect underground water sources in the area so that the hard work and money of the poor people could be saved.

Sabir Mohammad said huge reservoirs of fresh water existed in the south-eastern parts of the district. These water sources, if exploited properly, would be sufficient to meet the requirements of the entire district, he said.