TIMERGARA: The prolonged dry spell and less snowfall in winter this year have led to acute shortage of drinking water in Lower Dir as natural springs, streams and dug wells have dried up and people fetch water from far flung areas.

The local people say that residents of almost all areas in the district face acute shortage of drinking water either due to drought like situation or prolonged power outages and low voltage of electricity.

The people in Talash, Kotigram, Ouch, Khadagzai, Chakdara and other areas of Adenzai tehsil; Rabat and its surrounding areas in Khall tehsil; and Sadbar Kallay, Mayar and Mian Kallay in Jandol have been facing difficulties due to water shortage.

The well-to-do people buy drinking water from water tankers or fetch potable water through other means from far flung areas. “I spend Rs1,500 per week on bringing water through water tanker,” said Nek Mohammad, a resident of Dherai Talash.

People are forced to fetch water from far-off areas

He said that underground water table lowered and his own dug well inside his home dried up due to lesser rainfall that winter and last summer.

An official of the public health engineering department said that the water table in Lower Dir dropped to 150 feet below due to dry spell and less snowfall. He said that some of the government tubewells, the main source of drinking water, could not be run owing to low voltage of electricity.

“We have converted some of the government water supply schemes to solar power system. These are functional,” said Wilayat Syed, a sub-engineer of the department.

Mohammad Israr, a resident of Tazagram area in Adenzai, said that majority of wells in homes and mosques at Shawa, Tindo Dag, Tazagram and Shah Alam Baba had been dried up. He said that people were forced to buy drinking water.

Mr Israr said that the 600 feet deep tubewells in his village dried up and people had no other sources to get potable water.

Mohammad Nisar, a resident of Darbar Chakdara, said that his area was close to the Swat River but despite that the wells there dried up and the water tabled further dropped. He said that people were finding it difficult to hire labourers to dig wells because they were overburdened.

“For the last two months, I have been searching for labourers to further dig my well but to no avail,” said Mr Nisar.

In Rabat and its surrounding areas too, the natural springs and wells have dried up and residents fetch water from distant sources.

Shafiqur Rehman, an agriculture expert, said that construction of Gopalum Irrigation Channel from the Panjkora River and Sanam Dam on Asbanr stream were the only solution to overcome the shortage of drinking water in Khall, Rabat, Timergara, Talash and Adenzai areas of the district.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2018