Residents Groan as Water Scarcity Hits Katsina

Acute water shortage has hit Katsina State metropolis in the last three weeks, as residents live at the mercy of water vendors for their daily water supply irrespective of where they get the water from.

Investigation by Yellowstone revealed that long queues of water vendors at commercial borehole centres are currently common in many parts of the city, including Government Reservation Areas (GRAs).

The worst hit areas are Shagari-low Cost, Kofar-Kaura, Rafindadi, Kofar-Sauri, Sardauna Estate and Sabon-ungwar, where men, women and children forsake other duties to fetch water from commercial borehole operators and jerry can water sellers.

It was reported that following the scarcity, commercial borehole operators had increased their rates by 50 per cent, while owners of private boreholes now charge between N10 and N15 as against N5 per 25-litre jerry can.

 

Some residents who spoke with Yellowstone yesterday, blamed the biting water scarcity on irregular water supply by the state water board.

One of the residents, Malam Abubakar Yusuf Bakori, said: "There is no regular water supply from government. Government keeps on saying it will address the problem but up till now, nothing has been done.

"Majority of households don't have boreholes, and the few that have could not serve the population living in the metropolis. Most of them could not fuel their generators to pump water for use. They wait for electricity supply before they could pump for the public."

Another resident, Abdulkadir Ya'u Rafindadi, who expressed dismay over the water scarcity, said some residents with low income had resorted to using well water as an alternative.

He added: "The situation has affected almost the entire city and water vendors have continued to capitalise on the situation to increase their prices.

"I used to buy 12 jerry cans for N20 before the scarcity, but now they are sold for N35. We are calling on the state government to come to our aid.”