UMERKOT, May 9: Residents of Sadhar village have threatened to block the Thar Express train track if the only water supply scheme of their area did not start functioning soon.

It may be noted here that the said village is situated on Pakistan-India railway track and villagers are facing acute water shortage since long. Protesters carrying placards and empty bottles and jars took out a rally from Jamia Mosque to Sadhar railway station.

Muhammad Akram Sehto addressing protesters said that the village was over 150 years old but may lose its existence on account of water shortage.

The only water supply scheme established in 1990 at a cost of Rs3.5 million could not function since its inception thus turning underground water brackish, he said adding villagers were now suffering from skin and stomach ailments. “I'm also suffering from hypertension and renal problem and have got the water tested from the High-tech Central Resource Laboratory, University of Sindh. Tested water had been declared unfit for human consumption because of concentration of high level total dissolved salts (TDS) ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 PPM, he said. Either 11,000 people should stay at the mercy of this deadly water or move out to other places for their survival.

Another speaker Jalal Kori said that the scheme was installed in 1990 but could not take off as the contractor abandoned the unfinished scheme after recovering his entire bill with the help of some high-ups and added that Hesco authorities too, had been quite efficient in sending the bill of Rs3 million even though not a single unit was utilised.

Coordinator of the Constituency Relation Group, Gul Munir Valhari said it was an irony that millions were wasted on a non-sanctioned scheme.

The Chief Minister took notice of the issue and provincial minister Syed Ali Mardan Shah assured of resolving it but nothing was done despite the lapse of 11 years, he said.

Finally villagers called upon the authorities and were told that the government would establish Reverse Osmosis. However, he argued that this too would not be feasible because of the expenses of chemicals and electricity bills as these are always handed over to community to operate and bear operational expenses.