Jajarkot, October 21 Residents of Chaulechaur and Sanawal villages in Nalgad Municipality-3, Jajarkot, are compelled to drink contaminated river water after the local water projects were damaged by the monsoon floods and landslides this year.
A number of drinking water projects, including Mul Drinking Water Project, Nayan Kholi Drinking Water Project, Bagarchhana Drinking Water Project and Nahakuli Irrigation and Drinking Water Project were damaged by the floods and landslides.
The floods have damaged the pipeline and water tanks.
“As it’s been around two months since our taps went dry and nothing has so far been done to repair the damaged water projects, what else would we do other than fetch drinking water from the nearby river?” asked a local Janak Bahadur Pun of Chaulechaur.
“As people are using contaminated water from the river, cases of diarrhoea, common cold and dysentery are being reported in the villages of late,” Pun said, adding around 100 households in the two villages are affected by lack of safe drinking water.
Locals here lamented that the authorities concerned had turned a blind eye to their problems.
Another local Mishri Bahadur Poudel of Sanawal said he had to fetch water from the local river every day.
“The dysfunctional water projects have not only created water scarcity, but also hampered my children’s studies as they had to spend most of their time fetching water from the river.”

Mr Ariel said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 1 that water supplies to Amman would be reduced from four to two days a week if Jordan terminates the agreement of the 1994 peace treaty that allows the Israeli government and farmers to use Jordanian lands of Baqura and Ghamr near their shared border.
On Sunday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II announced his decision and said that “Baqoura and Ghamr are Jordanian lands and will remain Jordanian and we will exercise full sovereignty over our territory".
______________ Read more: Jordan’s King Abdullah II warns of ‘dangers’ to Jerusalem Jerusalem to remove UN agency for Palestinians from city Jordan’s king announces return of full sovereignty as he cancels Israeli land deal ______________ Under their peace agreement, Jordan agreed to grant Israeli farmers and military officers free access to the enclave.
"Jordan needs Israel more than Israel needs Jordan," he said.
Jordan is one of only two Arab states that has a peace treaty with Israel and the two countries have a long history of close security ties.
Former Israeli Ambassador to Jordan, Oded Eran, said he was not surprised by King Abdullah’s decision, adding that there is still time for the two countries to renegotiate the agreement.
Such criticism prompted demonstrations in Amman last Friday, where marchers demanded the restoration of Baqura and Ghamr.
Anti-government warnings were submitted to Jordanian courts demanding against the renewal of the peace agreement with Israel.
Under that deal, which aims to increase fresh water supplies for Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel and revitalise the Dead Sea’s falling water levels, Israel agreed to increase water sales to the Palestinian Authority by 20m to 30m cubic meters a year.
Since then, high-level talks on water project have been suspended between the two countries.

Latur: Dispelling extreme drought like conditions, the Guardian Minister of Latur, Sambhaji Patil Nilengkar said, the water levels in the Manjra are sufficient for 45 million cubic metres.
There is no fear for Latur city as the current water supply will be sufficient till June 2019.
In 2015-16, the state government officials sent a train to provide drinking water to Latur.
Likewise, there is sufficient supply for Latur district too.
Nilangekar appealed to citizens not to worry about water shortage.
The officials said, “The district has received below average rainfall and a drought-like situation has been created.
However, after reviewing the overall water projects in the district, citizens should not be worried about water scarcity since the water will be available till June 2019.” The officials of Latur Municipal Corporation were asked to stop all the water leakage in the supply scheme and urged the citizens to maximise their awareness about installatinig proper water meters to plug these leakages.
“All the Municipal Councils / Nagar Panchayat officers and district development officials should prepare the water scarcity plans at their level and present them to the district administration under the supervision of the sub-divisional officers,” the Latur Municipal Commissioner advised.
Nilangekar was asked to create a squad comprising of police and water resources department staff at the district and sub-divisional level to conduct checks and create awareness regarding the scarcity.
An official informed, “The work of Amrit scheme in Latur Municipal Corporation is slow.

Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda has said that water issue should be taken seriously and all stakeholders should contribute to resolving it on a war-footing.
Talking to PTV he said that the water scarcity would become serious issue in time ahead and the need of the hour is to adopt collective approach to tackle this issue.
Minister urged experts in the government and private sectors to give advice on adopting alternate sources of energy to create sustainable conditions as government was planning to take initiatives for permanent solution to water scarcity and energy problem.
Minister said the water conservation strategy can only be implemented successfully if people carefully utilize the water in their daily lives and cooperate with the government in this matter.
Faisal Vawda said, there was a need to introduce modern irrigation system in the country to save water, educate, equip and provide farmers financial assistance to achieve that goal, he said.
No government of the past took the issue seriously rather some elements were misguiding the people.
Dams issue was politicized largely in the country for vested interests, he added.

KARACHI: Given that water shortage remains a major issue in the areas falling under PS-111 constituency, it is no surprise that various candidates in the run for Sunday’s election have made water scarcity the core issue of their campaign.
While political parties and their candidates have been running lukewarm campaigns in their strongholds, some have been assuring people to restore their water troubles.
While PTI’s candidate for the by-polls, Shahzad Qureshi, is confident that he will win since his party has won this seat in the general elections of both 2018 and 2013, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) candidate, Fayyaz Pirzada, has been trying to mobilise voters through corner meetings in katchi abadis which are a stronghold of PPP.
Pirzada recalled that the election campaign of the PPP candidate in the July general elections revolved around the water issue.
He added that the Sindh government’s Local Bodies Minister Saeed Ghani has already been directed by the Sindh chief minister to carry out feasibility of the desalination plant for provision of potable water to the residents of DHA and Clifton areas.
“I’m trying to highlight the genuine problems of my residents with the limited resources I have to reach out to the public,” he told The Express Tribune.
PTI and PPP are powers in the Centre and in Sindh respectively, and are in favour of the desalination plant but according to Nasir, the reason for Karachi’s water scarcity lies in the water theft by tanker mafia which is active in Karachi and deprives people of their basic rights.
Other candidates in the by-polls of PS-111 include representatives from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).
Jamat-e-Islami and Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz have not fielded their candidates.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2018.

Out of 353 talukas, 86 have 0 to 20 per cent rainfall deficiency groundwater level has depleted by three metres in 3,342 villages In 17,031 villages, ground water levels have depleted by a metre On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised help to drought affected areas of Maharashtra after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requested aid from Delhi during the centenary celebrations of Sai Baba Samadhi in Maharashtra’s Shirdi.
The latest assessment of groundwater reserves in Maharashtra carried out by the Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (GSDA) found that 11,487 villages in 167 talukas are likely to face water scarcity.
Starting with 114 talukas 2,941 villages are likely to face water scarcity from October onwards.
The number will increase to 143 talukas – 2,990 villages from January.
GSDA assesses groundwater reserves four times a year.
The latest assessment has found that variations in rainfall till September 2018 have led to a deficiency in water.
Out of 353 talukas, 86 have 0 to 20 per cent rainfall deficiency; 61 talukas have 20 to 30 per cent and 109 talukas have 30 to 50 per cent deficiency whereas, 27 talukas have more than 50 per cent rainfall deficiency.
Report says in 252 talukas comprising 13,984 villages, the groundwater level has depleted by three metres in 3,342 villages.
The reasons for this scarcity of water have been attributed to inadequate rainfall, lack of water management and indiscriminate use of water for irrigation.
On October 9, the Devendra Fadnavis government decided to launch a massive outreach campaign in 200 out of 358 talukas in view of irregular monsoon rains and rising water scarcity.

Researchers mapped the areas where future global conflict is most likely to break out as a result of climate change-fueled water shortages.
Researchers said the areas most likely to be hit by ‘hydro-political’ issues are those with already stressed water basins.
They believe water-related conflict or cooperation is likely to develop in the next 50 to 100 years as a result of climate change and population growth.
‘Competition over limited water resources is one of the main concerns for the coming decades,’ the scientists explained.
First, we wanted to highlight the factors which lead to either political cooperation or tensions in transboundary river basins,’ Fabio Farinosi, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.
‘And second, we wanted to map and monitor the likelihood of these kinds of interactions over space and time and under changing socio-economic conditions.’
They then studied the links with freshwater ability, climate stress, human pressure on water resources and socio-economic conditions.
Researchers identified five primary hotspots, including the Nile, Ganges-Brahmaputra, Indus, Tigris-Euphrates and Colorado rivers – all of which are areas with ‘already water stressed basins.’
However, not every hotspot for water scarcity will be rife with conflict.
According to the landmark report from the International Panel on Climate Change, we will need to close down hundreds of coal-fired power stations and rapidly switch to using renewable energy.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Pervaiz Khattak on Wednesday said that construction of dams is imperative to address water scarcity issue in the country, ARY News reported.
According to a statement released from his office, the minister expressed these view talking to a group of students from Headstart School Islamabad, who called on him to present a cheque of Rs60,000 for the Prime Minister-Chief Justice Dam fund.
The minister appreciated the passion and dedication of the students and advised them to work devotedly for the bright future of the country.
About the dam fund The Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dam Fund 2018 was established by the federal government in pursuance of a Supreme Court order for raising funds for the construction of the two dams.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar was the first to donate money for the fund as on July 5, he deposited Rs1Million as donation in the account titled “DIAMER BASHA AND MOHMAND DAM FUND–2018′.
The fund, which was merged with PM’s fund by PM Imran Khan on September 7, can receive donations and contributions from both domestic and international donors, individuals and companies, and the general public has been requested to contribute generously.

At last week’s Data Centre World in Singapore, the largest industry event in Asia, water technology provider Ecolab discussed sustainable solutions to address the freshwater crisis and examples of how data centres have successfully reduced water consumption.
Demand for natural resources is exceeding supply at an alarming rate, not least when it comes to our most fundamental resource – water.
By 2030, global demand for fresh water is expected to exceed available supplies by 40 per cent.
Running parallel to our increasing water consumption is the mushrooming of data centres all over the world, that rely on large volumes of water to cool their racks and servers.
Kai Min Chen, VP and Managing Director of Ecolab Thailand, Indochina and Philippines, took to the stage at Data Centre World Asia to explain how Ecolab’s technologies are helping data centres reduce water consumption.
“Water scarcity is a significant risk to business growth, but sustainable water management is within reach through innovative solutions like 3D TRASAR Cooling Water Technology,” Chen said.
“Globally, Ecolab’s cooling water technologies helped save 582 billion litres of water in 2017 – equivalent to the yearly drinking water needs of more than 530 million people,” he added.
Chen also discussed how Nalco Water, an Ecolab company, helped Microsoft’s data centre in San Antonio, US – which faced constraints in water quantity and quality – reduce water use and costs.
Using both the Water Risk Monetizer and 3D TRASAR technology, Nalco Water helped Microsoft’s San Antonio data centre reduce potable water use by 227 million litres and save $140,000 in water costs annually.
Microsoft has experimented with submerging its data centres underwater to facilitate cooling.

But that’s not the case for the nearly 2,200 indigenous people about 10 miles away on the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nations reserve.
Six of its water systems are under long-term drinking-water advisories.
But the commitment, part of a raft of pledges designed to bring about reconciliation with Canada’s indigenous people, has not been easy to address, and chiefs and others worry that a combination of red tape, undertrained operators at water treatment plants and insufficient funding means that progress will be sporadic.
Despite the fact that Canada has the world’s third-largest supply of fresh water, water on indigenous reserves has for decades been contaminated with various chemicals or bacteria, tough to access or at risk because of broken-down water systems that can take years to fix.
In Neskantaga, a remote fly-in reserve also in northern Ontario, residents have been boiling water for 23 years after a water treatment plant that was built in 1993 broke down.
Since becoming prime minister, Trudeau has earmarked nearly $2 billion to make good on his promise, but addressing the crisis hasn’t been easy.
In 2016, after four years of negotiations with the federal government, his reserve got something that many don’t have: a $31 million state-of-the-art water treatment plant, which provides clean water to 68 homes and various community facilities.
A report from Human Rights Watch in 2016 found that of the dozens of drinking-water advisories in place on Ontario’s reserves, almost 60 were for systems less than 25 years old, and 12 were for systems less than 15 years old.
Making matters worse, reserves often struggle to retain water treatment plant operators, who are trained by Health Canada and responsible for testing the water.
A $41 million water treatment plant was built to serve part of the Six Nations reserve in 2014, she explained, but residents are afraid to drink from it because they don’t trust that the water is clean.