Lacking infrastructure: Clean drinking water an uphill battle for villagers

Locals walk 4 km to the nearby spring while some use donkeys.

BUNER:

The 121 families in Shaheeda Mera and Budal villages are forced to walk a distance of four kilometres (km) every time they need to collect clean drinking for their houses.

Women, children and adults can be seen carrying water from the only spring located around four km from their homes. Some carry filled up water gallons on their shoulders, some on their heads, while a few use donkeys as transport.

“It is so tiring to bring heavy gallons of water from such a long distance. I wish my father could buy a donkey for me so that I can bring water on it as the rich people in our village do,” remarked Farman Khan, a grade 3 student from Budal village.

“Four families pooled money together and bought a donkey to carry the gallons we collect from the spring. It is quite a relief now,” another local Zaheer Khan told The Express Tribune.

Syed Jamil, a local social activist, claimed elected representatives have never bothered to work for the development of the area.

“We have frequently asked every elected representative in all governments to install water supply lines in our villages. However, they just deceived us after getting the votes,” he said, adding the area was in dire need of a proper water supply system.

For low-income residents, carrying water is a constant labour. However, a few of the richer families have installed pipelines from the spring to their homes. “In 2002, we constructed a 1,200 meter pipe from the spring to a certain point in the village from where 16 houses get water. It cost Rs350,000 and a motor running on diesel was also installed to pump the water,” said Rafiqullah, an affluent villager.

However, there seems to be hope for these people. The Sarhard Rural Support Programme (SRSP) with funding from the European Union initiated a water pumps scheme for the villages under the Malakand Peace Project. “Six hand pumps will be set up at various locations in the villages and Rs1,453,900 will be spent on the scheme,” said SRSP official Fazal Rahim Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2013.