Woes of Skarkoi: Gilgit village lacks basic facilities

Comprising over 500 households, Skarkoi is one of the most neglected villages of the capital city.

GILGIT: Skarkoi, a village adjacent to Gilgit town, lacks even the basic facilities of life. Comprising over 500 households, it is one of the most neglected villages of the capital city.

Some of the residents complained on Tuesday that they are facing shortage of drinking water as the only water tank built by the government is unable to fulfil the villagers’ needs.

“We have to face a lot of difficulties just to get clean drinking water,” said Mohammad Sadiq, a representative of the area. He said that the only water tank in the area is so small that it is insufficient to meet the needs of even one-fourth of the area’s population.

The second source, the water channel, was swept away by the monsoon floods. “We asked the authorities to rebuild the channel but no one pays attention to our problems,” he said.

Sadiq said that due to shortage of clean water, people are compelled to fetch dirty and unhygienic water from the nearby river for drinking and cooking which is spreading various diseases. He said that the village has no dispensary either.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2010.