DADU, June 9 Residents of Kachho belt of Khairpur Nathan Shah taluka are facing an acute shortage of drinking water, healthcare facilities, electricity, primary education institutions and roads.

In several villages of the two most-affected union councils, Chhore-Qamabar and Buriro of Khairpur Nathan Shah, schemes of tube-wells and electricity are shown completed in the official record. But they are incomplete since 1993.

Only a few primary schools and health facilities are functioning in the two union councils.

Women and children are seen on camels and donkeys, fetching water for drinking purpose.

Bakhat Lashari of Salari village, Burioro UC, said 5,000 population of the village had been facing problems of health, education and supply of drinking water.

He said the building of a primary school was constructed in 1993. Since then teachers had not arrived and 500 children of the village were grazing cattle, he said.

Another villager, Allah Bukhsh, said that after coming into power, the PPP had started work on Salari dam under the small dam project to store rainwater, but the work had been stopped.

Roshan Ali of Salari said that early in the morning, women and children went to flood protective embankment on camels and donkeys to fetch drinking water after travelling 60 kilometres.

Nabi Bukhsh of Saifal Gadhi village said that a tube-well scheme was launched to supply water to 4,000 souls of the village in 1993, but it was not functional.

He said poles of electricity had been installed, but power supply remained a dream as the scheme was left incomplete.

Ali Asghar of Mor-Jo-Khooh village said his village was also facing a shortage of drinking water.

Situation in Bullo Gadhi, Koro Khan and Kooh Mari is not different.

When contacted, PPP MPA Imran Zafar Leghari said the PML-N and PML-Q governments had neglected those villages as their residents were loyal to the PPP. He claimed that the PPP government had started paying attention to the area but failed to mention a single development scheme being carried out in the area.

Dadu DCO Saleem Raza Khuhro claimed that water supply to 61 villages through tankers had been started on temporary basis. He said that the TRDP, an NGO, and local committees would monitor the process of water supply.

The DCO said that the NGO was constructing small dams in different areas of Kachho to eradicate shortage of water.

He said that he had requested the taluka municipal administrations of Khairpur Nathan Shah, Johi, Mehar and Dadu to help him in supply of water to the Kachho areas facing an acute shortage of water.

He said that the infrastructure of water supply schemes constructed by the previous governments would be repaired.

He said that installation of deep hand-pumps had been planned to provide relief to the people of Kachho.