Not a drop to spare: Relocation remains only viable option for Malookabad residents

Scarcity of water in Mingora UC has exposed locals to range of challenges

MINGORA: Relocation appears to be the only viable option for residents of Malookabad union council in Mingora. Many of them have been reeling under an acute water shortage which has adversely impacted their lives.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that Malookabad is a thickly populated area. According to the inhabitants, the scarcity of water has resulted in considerable inconvenience. The relevant authorities have not been quick to react to the crisis and the complaints of residents have fallen on deaf ears.

However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Fazal Hakeem recently informed The Express Tribune that he had instructed the Municipal Committee Mingora to identify the causes of water shortage in Malookabad.



“Another tubewell will be built to cope with the water shortage,” he added. “Connections from existing tubewell will also be streamlined.”

Perils of relocation

While attempts are being made to chalk out a tangible solution to the water crisis, residents of the area finds themselves grappling with a whole range of problems.

“The extreme shortage of water has made our life miserable,” a resident told The Express Tribune.

A large number of locals are also contemplating moving to other parts of the city to put an end to their ordeal. However, the prospect of leaving their homes and settling in another part of the city appears bleak and, at times, threatening.

Khan Nawab, a 40-year-old resident of the UC, told The Express Tribune his family has been living in Malookabad since 1988.

“The early years of our life in this locality were good,” he said.

Water woes

“The only means of water was a pond,” Nawab said. “It had enough water to cater the needs of people. With time, there was a rapid increase in population and the demand for water increased.”

According to Nawab, their demands have not been met despite repeated attempts to broach the subject with the relevant authorities. “We have no other option but to relocate to other places where water and other amenities can be found in abundance,” Nawab said, unable to conceal the resignation in his voice.

Fazal Rehman, another resident, said, “Our area is underprivileged and lacks basic amenities such as electricity even though we pay our utility bills on time. We have knocked every door but no one has looked into the matter.”

The how and why

According to Rehman, the shortage is caused by illegal connections people take from the main pipeline.

“People with political influence obtain water connections from the main line, while the rest of us face a water shortage,” he added.

About his plans to relocate to other parts of the city, he said nearly half of his family has shifted to Panr in Mingora. The rest of Rehman’s family is planning to shift to other places as well. They have lost all hope of things getting better in their hometown.

People of the locality rely heavily on the water coming from a tubewell which was constructed 30 years ago by the government. The tubewell is in a shambles and the water connections have not been functioning properly. “We requested the relevant authorities to repair the tubewell,” said Musa Muhammad, another resident. “However, our demands fell on deaf ears.”

Akhtar Ayub, in-charge water-supply Mingora said the government has built a total of four tubewells in the past thirty-years, “The population has risen to half a million people and the wells are not enough for them. However, there is nothing wrong with the operation of the wells.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2016.