Sun spitting fire; water shortage hits many areas

Rafiullah Mandokhail

ZHOB: Blazing sun has been spitting fire for the last couple of days and the nights too are very hot with extremely hot winds, denying any relief to people even after sun set.

The people continued to reel under a severe heat wave. On the other hand citizens in various parts of Zhob city are experiencing worst water shortage of its kind, as many areas didn’t receive a single drop of water amid sizzling summer for the last few weeks.

The water consumption increased manifold as mercury reached its climax and the summer season reached its peak. Water scarcity making it extremely hard for the people to brave the exceptional heat. The absence of drinking water has added to the people’s woes manifold. The residents of worst affected areas complained that they have been facing water shortage, but repeated complaints made to the PHE department bore no fruits.

“Various parts of the city have been in the grip of an acute water shortage for the past couple of days, forcing the residents of the water-starved localities to either buy private tankers or pitch water with the help of children from remote areas, said a social activist Sheikh Ashraf Khan. “The PHE officials taking no interest in resolving the problem despite several complaints lodged with them”, he added.

He urged the authorities concerned to take serious notice of the plight of the thirsty people of the city. On the other hand the supply is severely hampered as water supply line has developed leaks that lead not only to water scarcity but the dirty water also mixes with drinking water.

Public Health Department officials said, the city received two and half million gallon of water from its sources, although it is enough to meet the demand, but due to leakage in water pipes thousands of gallon water gushed out from the damaged pipelines and flow down, in the past the department had removed dozens illegal water connections.