Water scarcity is so bad in Southern Plateau in the dry season that most classrooms are empty as both teachers and learners abandon everything else to get water for their domestic use. Isaac Shobayo tells the pathetic story of the people as well as government's effort to ameliorate the water scarcity-induced suffering.FOR the people of Kanke, Langtang North, Langtang South and Wase local government areas of Plateau State, raining season is a time of respite from the burden of non-availability of potable water. The local government areas, especially the Langtang North and South councils, which have produced many eminent Nigerians, have been facing this perennial problem for a very long time without concrete moves being made to ameliorate the pathetic situation.When Nigerian Tribune visited the affected local government areas recently, both children and adults were seen with buckets and jerrycans in search of water for their domestic needs. At Mabudi, the headquarters of Langtang South Local Government, the inhabitants of Langtang North were seen clustering around the earth dam which serves as a source of water for men and beasts in that community.An investigation carried out by Nigerian Tribune revealed that due to acute shortage of water, most children and teachers in the affected council areas seldom go to school regularly as they spend ample time in search of water.At the neighbouring Langtang North Local Government Area, the earth dam constructed many years ago had gone dry.A primary school teacher in Langtang North Local Government, Mr. Daniel Hassan, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune on the water crisis in the council area, said the problem had lingered for long with little efforts by both the local and state governments to address it.According to him, the people, especially those in the remote parts of the local government, experienced hell during dry season when wells and other sources like streams dried up, forcing school children and their parents to abandon every other venture in a bid to get water.At Langtang South Local Government, a housewife, who simply called herself Hauwa, said since she was born about 28 years ago, the area had been without potable water.According to her, the earth dam in the locality which served as a source of water was not hygienic as animals and human beings always slugged it out to get water from it.Hauwa further explained that raining season alleviated their suffering as most of the boreholes provided by either the local government authority or elected politicians in the area, which dried up in the dry season, usually had water during the raining season. She called on both the state and federal governments to come to their aid, saying that scarcity of water had become a traumatic experience to the people of the council.In Kanke and Wase Local Government Areas, the story was the same. Those who volunteered to speak with Nigerian Tribune said the problem of getting potable water had been an age long issue that seemed to have defied solution due to sheer neglect by successive governments in the state. Speaking on the efforts of the state government to address water scarcity in the affected local governments, the state Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Idi Waziri, said the administration of Governor Jonah Jang was determined to make water scarcity history, not only in the areas mentioned but in the entire state.According to the commissioner, the state government was building a dam in Timbut, which would serve the Langtang South Local Government Area. He said the dam, which would cost N143 million on completion, had reached an advanced stage, adding that the state government had since commenced the intervention to salvage the pathetic problems inherited by the administration.He said the Baushi Dam awarded in 1983, which was initially abandoned but was later resuscitated during the administration of the late General Sani Abacha only to be abandoned again, was currently receiving the attention of the present administration, adding that the project, when completed, had the capacity of addressing the water problem of not only Langtang South Local Government, but the entire southern zone.'Once the dam is completed, it will not only serve Langtang South Local Government but also Langtang North Local Government, Shendam, Mikang, Wase and other areas within the senatorial district. The governor has directed me and two other commissioners to meet over the project and as well liaise with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources on the way forward concerning the project,' Waziri said.He said the state government had gotten the engineering design of the project that was done by Julius Berger, adding that the state government was ready to partner with the Federal Government to ensure the actualisation of the project.The commissioner further stated that the governor had directed him and two others to tour the state with the aim of discovering ponds that retained water throughout the year and consider the possibility of making them good for human consumption and possibly extend them to communities without water.Apart from expanding existing dams in Shendam and Pankshin local governments to meet the need of the people, the commissioner said the state was partnering with the European Union, Water Aid, UNICEF and UN Habitat towards providing water for the people in different parts of the state, adding that the government had never failed to provide its counterpart funding.Alhaji Idi Waziri further enunciated that the state government was making concerted efforts towards improving water supply within the state capital. He said the reticulation of pipes within the Jos/Bukuru metropolis would cost a total sum of N14 billion, adding that it would be done in phases because of the huge cost.According to him, the government had already approved the sum of N250 million in the 2012 budget to mend some of the burst pipes within the city before major work would be carried out, adding that the Plateau Rural Water Supply Sanitation Agency was also not resting on its oars towards ensuring that the people of the state, especially those in the rural areas had access to good water.A cross section of those who spoke with Nigerian Tribune in the affected areas made passionate appeals to the state government to come to their aid and tackle the water scarcity head on. They added that previous governments in the state did not do much to alleviate their suffering, they, therefore, wanted the administration of Governor Jonah Jang to match words with actions.
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