Herat’s Rubat-i-Sangi residents lack access to clean water

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok):Residents of Rubat-i-Sangi district in western Herat province lack access to safe drinking water and as a result face health problems because they drink contaminated water.

Feroz Ahmad, a resident of Rubat-i-Sangi village, told Pajhwok Afghan News local officials and relevant departments should dig deep wells to provide their village safe with drinking water.

He said clean drinking water sources were situated far away from them and they could not fetch potable water home and instead used contaminated water from ponds near their homes, which caused various ailments, including diarrhea, intestinal infections and other diseases.

According to him, fetching water home from far away areas needs a lot of time and energy. Some women and children of the village bring water on their heads and shoulders from far flung areas.

“This problem has a negative impact on children’s education and women’s daily activities in the family.”

Basir Ahmad, a resident of this village, also said most women went to springs relatively far from their homes in search of water because men were not available as they worked. “Some women are forced to use impure water near their homes.”

He added 20 to 30 sick children were taken to the clinic and most of them suffered from water-borne diseases.

However, Qari Saifuddin Motasim, director of the rural development, said efforts had been made to provide safe drinking water to people in the district,  but still some people lacked access to clean water.

He added the provincial Rural Development Department strived as much as possible and event carried water to some villages of the district.

On the other hand, Mufti Abdul Rahman Rahmani, deputy administrative chief for Rubat-i-Sangi district, also acknowledged the problem and said that recent earthquakes, drought, and floods had damaged springs and drinking water sources.

Meanwhile, the provincial Rural Development Department confirmed the problem of the people of this district, saying they are striving to address the problem as soon as possible.

Maulvi Abdul Salam Hijrat, director of rural rehabilitation and development, told Pajhwok about the problem of Rubat-i-Sangi residents: “People face a lot of problems, it is true, there is no potable water in the town and we have plan to take steps to address this problem.”

He added in cooperation with UNICEF they surveyed areas of the province where people lacked access to safe drinking.

sa/ma