Inhabitants of the Kparaboug community in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region have been hit with a water crisis, forcing them to resort to their only old well for water.
All three hand pump boreholes constructed in the community never had a drop of water. The fourth borehole that served the community for some time also broke down recently and has not been repaired.
This, the residents lamented, has compelled them, especially school-going children, to cut their sleep short to compete for water at the well, constructed over 25 years ago.
Apart from the safety of the water in question, residents waste most of their daily working hours hunting for it due to the large number of people competing for it.
Women and school-going children are said to be the most affected due to the gender role of fetching water that society has ascribed to women and the need for children to take their bath for school.
Business women who trade at the Pelungu Market are said to not only lose part of their profit on a daily basis but also their loyal customers to their competitors, who are present at the market during demanding hours.
Aside from school pupils also losing some lessons due to their lateness to school, they fall asleep in class during contact hours because of the number of hours spent in bed.
A resident, Miss Mary Welaga, said ” We are really suffering in this community in terms of water because we all depend on this well, which you can see is far away from most of the houses, and so apart from the difficulty in getting water, one will have to walk several metres before getting to the house”.
Another resident and trader, Mrs. Nagpoka Yen, said “The water situation here is having an adverse effect on us in all aspects of our lives; my business is being affected as I lose my customers on every market day because of my lateness due to the hustle of getting water to prepare food and my children to school”.
The Assemblyman of the area, Doglas Toghutor Yenbograh, told A1 News that, despite efforts by the District Assembly and the Member of Parliament to get the community some three boreholes, the water crisis continues to persist.
He noted that the water table in the area was very low, resulting in the drying up of most of the boreholes, especially in the dry season when there was no rain.
The District Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Agnes Anamoo, said the Assembly would work to repair the broken boreholes in the meantime while efforts are made to solve the issue of water in the area.
She, however, noted that the water table in the area, just like in some parts of the district, was very low, and solving the issue of the water crisis entirely would require a lot of investment.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Gilbert Azeem Tiroog|Ghana
