WATER SCARCITY HITS MALLUM QUARTERS II
By Joel Boojen Awudu
The people of Mallum quarters II Jalingo, Taraba State capital are not finding things funny these few days as water scarcity has hit the people beyond imagination. The situation according to resident is becoming unbearable as people hardly get water to drink let alone bath twice a day.
Interacting with residents of the area, one Mr . Dauda Kuriti told our reporter that the scarcity of water in Mallum quarters II is very horrible. According to him the people in the area are no longer been supplied water by the Taraba State Water Board as it used to be. He said “previously, they supply water to us at least twice a week, mostly on Tuesday and Saturday but for more than one month now, we have not been supplied water and we don’t know the reason.
“Now we do buy water from truck pusher (Mairuwa) at the rate of 800 to 1000 naira daily. We are really suffering”. He added.
Mr. Kuriti called on the government to come to their rescue and alleviate them from the horrible situation. Another resident, Mrs. Patience David said it had been a serious challenge ever since their water tank broke. She stated that they usually buy water at the rate of 1500 naira per 250 liters from Keke NAPEP and as a family woman, she would use the water to cook for her children, wash their cloths and bath them and so it doesn’t. Mrs. Patience appealed to the Taraba State government to look into their plight and find a way of setting them free from the challenge.
Also lamenting about the pathetic situation, another resident, one Mr. Manga Emmanuel,a student at the Taraba State University said the situation was not actually funny especially to the students residing in the area.
“It is hard for us students. We often miss classes at times because of unprecedented queue around the few places we normally go to get water. Most at times we have to trek to the second quarters to get water and the queue there is always unprecedented, this sometimes makes us to go to school late”. He claimed.
“It is really hard for us here. Even the truck pusher who rarely come around sales the water at a very costly rate to us and as students, we are not finding it easy. Government should come to our rescue and dig bore holes for us.” He added.
When contacted, the District Manager, Taraba Water Sewerage Corporation (TAWASCO) Engr. Polycarp Hoku said the situation became unavoidable owing to the lack of Chemicals such as Iron and Chlorine.
“When these chemicals are not available, there is no way we can pump water to consumers because water has to be treated and tested before distributing it to consumers. We are actually on top of the matter and we are hoping that we will improve from our services.” He stated.
The District Manager advised residents in the area and Tarabans generally to always pay their normal bills and report abnormalities in the water sector to them to enable them serve them better.
He also called on Tarabans to support Governor Darius led administration initiatives and shun all forms of vandalism in order to reap all the dividends of democracy.
As at the time of compiling this report, residents of the area were buying water at the rate of 1500 per 250 liters.
