SIKSA, Pakistan, Sept 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – When a pipeline was installed last year to bring spring water and snowmelt to this village of 500 households in northern Pakistan, it brought something else as well: peace.
She estimates the system now channels over 5 billion litres of water a year – and ensures a water supply year-round.
“That can only be achieved by providing mountain communities with a reliable source of water in the right quantity and at the right time,” Khan said.
Sakina, who like most villagers uses just one name, said that until a few years ago water was abundant, with heavy winter snow meaning plenty of water flowed even in summer.
That meant less water for irrigation and less crops and income,” she said.
But since the water storage tank was installed, “all these fields have become green again”, she said, pointing to terraced fields where tomatoes, aubergine, okra and pumpkin grow against a backdrop of towering, bare-sloped mountains.
“We would have to go fetch water in plastic containers from springs higher up in the mountains, which would take hours, then use it sparingly to wash clothes and for cooking and drinking.
A reliable supply of water also has allowed villagers for the first time in year to sell a surplus of vegetables grown in the nearby market towns of Khaplu and Skardu, Khan said.
Villagers also have planted fruit trees – meaning better nutrition and higher incomes, Khan said.
Khan said the previous government had pushed for more tree planting and provided villagers with free popular saplings, which will also become a new source of income as they grow.