SHANGLA: The prolonged dry spell has triggered a severe water crisis in Shangla district, forcing people to fetch water from springs and rivers to meet their domestic needs.

Locals say that they have been facing an acute water shortage for the past two months as a prolonged dry spell has dried up natural springs in the area.

“We, four to five families, pool money and pay Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 daily to tractor owners to fetch water from the Bely Baba spring for household use,” said Asmatullah. He said that they had never experienced such a severe water crisis in the past.

Gul Bacha, a resident of Banjar Sar, said that they were forced to fetch water from far off springs. He said that people had been lodging complaints with district administration, but to no avail. He recalled that the area used to receive snowfall and rainfall from September to March that would increase water level in spring.

Former minister says he is trying to resolve the issue with CM’s help

“The residents of Bisham tehsil’s Molsar area have started migrating to other areas due to acute water shortage,” said Fazal Wahab, a local. He said that natural springs had completely dried up in the area.

He said that each household used to receive water once a month through a plastic pipe supply system, but that too recently stopped, leaving people with no option but to leave their ancestral villages.

Gul Akbar, another resident of Molsar, said that they staged a rally few months ago against shortage of water. Even minor children participated in the rally and walked from Molsar to Bisham city, he said. Despite assurances by authorities, he said, the issue remained unresolved.

Former provincial minister Shaukat Yousafzai told Dawn that he had approved several water supply schemes for the constituency, but some could not be executed due to contractors’ failure. He added that he was still trying to seek assistance from Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to resolve the issue.

Attaullah Khan, the executive engineer of public health engineering department, told Dawn that the situation was worsening as many gravity water supply schemes in Puran tehsil had also dried up.

He said that primary causes of the crisis were prolonged dry spell and shifting weather patterns observed over the past several years.

He said that the department was doing its best within limited resources to resolve the issue but climate change was rapidly impacting local environment and water sources.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2025