FEROZ KOH (SW) – A number of residents of refugees’ township in Firouzkoh city, the center of Ghor, complain about the lack of access to drinking water.
They say that all the water wells in some parts of this town have dried up due to successive droughts and the reduction of the underground water level.
Mohammad Sharif, a resident of refugees’ township in Ghor, says that he has to walk a long way every day to get the drinking water needed by his family.
He added: “People here have a lot of water problems. We have been living here for 10 years and we have the same water problems. Sometimes we go to fetch water from the river, but it doesn’t work either. We are in a lot of pain.”
Mohammad Ebrahim, another resident of this settlement, says that he walks up to two kilometers daily to get water. He added: “I ask the government and aid organizations to provide us with water. We absolutely need water. I’m not the only one, all people need water.”
Residents of other parts of refugees’ township, complaining about water shortage, say that the water piped to their place by a private company is intermittent and not enough for them.
Abdul Karim, another resident of the settlement, said: “The water is in turns. Water comes once every 10 to 15 days and very weakly. If someone helps us, it would be great and people will get rid of problems and misery. There is no water left even in Harirud River.”
The residents of the settlement still say that they have shared the problem of water shortage in this settlement many times with the officials of the previous government and the Islamic Emirate. But according to them, no attention has been paid yet.
Officials in the Ghor Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department say that they are trying to address the problems of the residents of the migrant settlement in coordination with aid institutions.
Zabihullah Ghousizada, the head of the media department of the Ghor Rural Rehabilitation and Development Directorate, said that the incorrect use of water by the residents causes water shortage and creates social problems among them. He added: “In accordance with its responsibilities, the Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development has communicated the issue with all institutions, donors and the government, and has resolved people’s problems through separate proposals. We have a plan that will be implemented at the level of Ghor and, God willing, the problems of the people will be solved to some extent.”
It should be mentioned that more than 1000 families live in the refugees’ township, all of whom are facing the problem of lack of drinking water.
ENDS
