Water is a necessary resource for life, but the situation is dire for the people of Dutsinma Local Government Area in Katsina State.
For a long time, access to water has been a major challenge in the area. The wells that most residents relied on dried up long ago, and the solar-powered water system constructed by the state government to ease their hardship is not functioning properly.
Tap water has now become a major dilemma for residents of Dutsinma town and beyond, forcing them to rely on untreated water from streams and dams or to purchase water at high prices from vendors.
Many students have abandoned their classes during school hours, moving from place to place in search of water for their parents, as they cannot afford to buy from water vendors.
A 25-liter jerry can is being sold for ₦100, a price that low-income earners cannot afford for their daily consumption. Moreover, the water is impure.
Most of the households who spoke to Radio Nigeria expressed their anger over the lackluster attitude of the state water board in providing potable drinking water to the area for over twenty years.
They appealed to Malam Dikko Umar Radda to come to their aid.
According to them, many campaign promises were made, but nothing was done to address the issue.
They added that this has contributed immensely to the rising insecurity in the area, as most of the water vendors are foreigners from Niger Republic.
They further stated that drinking this contaminated water could lead to a cholera outbreak in the area, along with other waterborne diseases such as bilharzia, diarrhea, and typhoid fever, among others.
They also called on the local and state governments to find a lasting solution to the problem.
All efforts to contact the relevant authorities for comments proved abortive, as they neither picked up our calls nor responded to our text messages.
COV/ SANI DUTSINMA
