Daily Times

SANGHAR: On occasion of Eid, when everyone is supposed to conduct gatherings, share meals with friends and family, the youths is supposed to hold a friendly cricket tournament of teams from nearby towns, people of Sanghar rushed to nearby ponds to collect water they had been deprived of for a month.

People of all ages from Sanghar, including men, women, children and elderly individuals, travelled to the pond area in their Eid clothes, with canes, pitchers, empty bottles and containers in their hands. The pond area, which was supposed to supply water to around 30,000 residents had been almost empty for over a month and on occasion of Eid, people had rushed to the place to collect whatever was left.

Khahi City, headquarter town of a union council town, is one of important cities of Sanghar district, which lies on irrigation system. Moreover, it produces the highest amount of wheat in the district, while cotton, sunflower, chillies and vegetable are also grown at mass scale.

The city lies in the National Assembly constituency of NA-216 (former NA-235) Sanghar, from where PPP leader and senior parliamentarian Shazia Marri won the seat during 2013 elections and she is contesting from the same constituency this time around too.

Recently, Marri accompanied Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Chairman, then Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, PPP Sindh President Nisar Khuhro and others to inaugurate a mega project of Sindh government of water supply to the Achro Thar or White Desert. Under the project, 240 kilometers main pipeline was laid to ensure water supply to the 85 villages dotting the dry desert.

However, Khahi city, the main agricultural region of the city and part of home constituency of Shazia Marri, remained thirsty for many months.

“People of the area gave votes to Shazia Marri hoping that they will at least get new water supply scheme, but as the next election is approaching, people are not even getting drinking water,” said Noor Ahmed Roonjho, a diehard PPP Jiyala. He said people are now disappointed with Shazia.

He said that the city of around 30,000 people received drinking water supply in 1990s and in the later years, new ponds were constructed. Since then however, he added that there is no cleanliness and the residents are being supplied raw water.

The ponds get water through an open drain from Khahi branch of Khipro canal and since the drain is uncovered, stray dogs bathe in it and livestock also drink from the drain and their manure mixes with the water. The water ponds are not just silted but also there are wild weeds, garbage and other contaminants.

During the visit, this scribe found that herds of the goats were drinking from the same pond from where the residents get their water. The water that people were collecting from the ponds, was brown in colour and had unpleasant odour.

“We demand to provide us new water supply scheme, from where treated water must be supplied to the city,” said Sher Muhammad, a resident of the city.