PESHAWAR, Jan 8: Residents of Hazarkhwani, a suburb of Peshawar, have been facing problems due to water shortage and leakage of water from the damaged supply lines at various places, many residents told Dawn on Wednesday.

The plastic water supply pipes had been laid by the public health engineering department a few months back. Most of these pipes are rusted and the water gushing out from them at various junctions, which not only deprive the people of water but also create a muddy situation where the pedestrian face hardships in walking on the uncemented streets.

The scarcity of water has become so severe that the people run from pillar to post to perform ablution for prayers. The worst sufferers are schoolchildren. The residents say that several times they had requested to the authorities concerned but to no avail.

A resident of the area, Mushtaq Khan, told Dawn that the contractor had laid plastic pipes instead of steal, which was the cause of concern. He said these pipes could not sustain the water load which resulted in the loss of the commodity. He said the government should order the contractor to replace the pipes and provide relief to the people who paid heavy water bills.