Severe water scarcity: LG reps threaten to observe hunger strike in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: The local government representatives of neighbourhood councils on Sunday announced that they would observe a hunger strike to protest against the severe water scarcity in the city and its suburbs.

“People are without potable water due to the ongoing dry spell yet the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) has failed to address this crisis,” Abdul Waheed, the chairman of Neighbourhood Council-I, told reporters.

Flanked by a group of local government representatives and residents, he said they planned to set up a hunger strike camp from February 14, indefinitely, outside the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.

“We expect a large crowd at this hunger strike camp to compel the Tehsil Municipal Administration to ensure an adequate water supply for thousands of households in the city and its suburbs,” Waheed added.

He said that the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) had revived an abandoned water supply scheme with financial assistance from a non-governmental organisation but it had failed to make it operational to meet the drinking water needs of urban areas.

“Through this joint collaboration between TMA and the NGO, a 2,400-foot-long supply line was laid about six months ago, but due to political hurdles, it has yet to be made operational,” he added.

Waheed further stated that with the holy month of Ramadan approaching, the existing water crisis would only worsen if immediate action was not taken.

The underground water table has significantly declined in recent years, causing household boreholes (hand pumps) in the city and surrounding areas to dry up.

Recently, the government secured a $41 million soft loan from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Mansehra’s gravity flow water supply scheme to address the city’s drinking water needs. However, experts estimate that its completion will take at least two to three years.