LANDIKOTAL: Tribal elders and representatives of the Shalman water supply scheme movement have urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammaf Sohail Afridi to immediately resume work on the long-delayed water supply scheme in the area.
Speaking to journalists at the Landikotal Press Club, the movement’s chairman Sharifullah Shinwari and others highlighted the grave hardships faced by the local population due to the unavailability of clean drinking water.
“Women in the region were compelled to fetch water from far-flung areas on their heads, even in this modern age, while many poor families buy water through private tankers at unaffordable rates. “Water is the most basic necessity of life, yet the people of Landikotal are deprived of it,” said one of the elders.
The elders stated that the Shalman Water Supply Scheme was first announced in 2003 and since then, several surveys and partial works have been initiated, but the project has never been completed. “Each time the work starts, it soon comes to a halt without explanation. Now, with the first-ever chief minister from Khyber district, Sohail Afridi, our hopes are once again alive that this long-pending project will finally reach completion,” said Sahrifullah.
They warned that if immediate steps were not taken, residents could be forced to migrate from the area due to the worsening water crisis. The elders further said that the Shalman water supply scheme movement, which was formally launched in 2021, has been peacefully advocating for the project and would continue to raise voice at every available platform until the scheme is implemented.