Residents of 350 villages of various union councils of Chhinni, Sawaro, Wahi Pandhi, Pat Gul Gul Mohammad, Tando Rahim,Gozo, Fareedabad nad Mado of Kachho belt located at western belt of Dadu district are living without facilities of clean drinking water.
As they are forced to use water from ponds and the contaminated underground water, they are suffering from different health issues and diseases, like hepatitis, temperature, cholera, abdomen pain and vomiting.
Doctors said that due to using unclean water, it reduces immune system among people in far flung areas of Dadu district.
“Our animals, and villagers are using dirty water of ponds and stored rain water,” said Shahoo Leghari, a resident of village Pat Gul Mohammad of taluka Johi.
“Major of population of the village are facing the waterborne diseases, their eye sight was weakened,” said Mst Sabhai Khatoon, a resident of village Chhinni.
“Since the four decades, all residents are exercising votes to the PPP candidates but still the facility of drinking water was not provided them,” said Jan Mohammad Shahani, a resident of village Chhinni of taluka Johi.
“We are fetching water for drinking purpose after travelling 15 kilometers distance from wells and ponds on donkeys and this practice we are using since last 20 years, while major of population of Kachho desert areas are facing different type diseases like Hepatitis, temperature, cholera, abdomen pain, vomiting diseases,” said Mst Nooran Shahani, a resident of village Chinni of taluka Johi.
“Millions rupees were embezzled in the name of supply of drinking water through establishment of water supply schemes at different parts of Kachho but several water supply schemes were not functioning since the last 10 years and several schemes were only on documents but physically these schemes were not established,” said Pir Bux Babar, a resident of Johi Town. “The oil and gas multinational companies are earning billions of dollars daily from oil and gas wells production in Kachho belt but local people are facing acute shortages of drinking water and the budget of social sector and CSR-Corporate social responsibility section was misused” “said Pir Bux Babar.
Speaking with this reporter, DHO Dadu, Dr Zahid Hussain Dawachh said that due to using contaminated water, dirty water of ponds and rain stored water, the immune system was reduced of local people of Kachho. He said that every second person was ill with hepatitis disease. He said that temperature was increasing among people and cholera and waterborne diseases also were facing by the population owing to using dirty water of ponds.
Speaking with executive engineer PHE-Public Health Engineering department dadu, said that total 45 water supply schemes out of 60 water supply schemes were completed in different parts of Kachho. He said that construction work was going on 15 more water supply schemes in Kachho. He said that each water supply scheme was supplying 4000 gallon of water to 8000 gallon water per day. He said that scheme of water supply was supplying 0.9 million gallon per day to Johi city but due load shedding the water supply scheme Johi facing problem to supply water to Johi.
He said that 80% schemes of water supply were working on solar system. He said that MNA Dadu Rafiq Ahmed Jamali and MPA Johi Syed Salih Shah has given schemes of 10 cores rupees to construct water supply schemes but due to locked down situation work on the schemes could not be started.