As the world marked the World Water Day, residents of Minna, the Niger State capital and its environs were lamenting the suffering occasioned by lack of adequate potable water in the metropolitan town.
Checks by DAILY POST revealed that most part of the town are going through difficulties in accessing water for their daily needs.
Many residents claimed they have to depend on water vendors, popularly known as ‘mai ruwa’ for their water supply, for those who have the means, while those without the means, have to trek long distance in search of water.
DAILY POST findings also showed that in areas like Tunga, Sauke Kahuta, a truck of water goes for N700 and N800, while residents of others parts such as London Street, Anguwan-Daji, Bosso, and Maikunkele buy for as high as N900 and N1, 000 per truck.
Some residents told DAILY POST that they are facing a lot of challenges of potable water to cook, and bath in their homes in recent times, in the face of the current economic difficulties and extreme heat being experienced in the state.
They called on the state government to intervene in the situation to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases since the sources of most water from the vendors cannot be ascertained.
According to Danladi Danmusa: “Because water is absolutely essential to human lives, government should step into this situation by ensuring that people have access to clean potable water from its water works. People are suffering, it is difficult to find water to cook, bath, wash and clean our environment.”
Mallam Bello, a resident of Galaxy area, also lanented:
“Water is among the basic things government should provide for its citizens to make life easy for them. Most times, we don’t even know the sources of the water we buy at very exorbitant amount from water vendors. We all know how precious water is to man.”
A house wife, Elizabeth Bulus, who lives in the Tunga area of the town, also complained about the acute scarcity.
” The water is so expensive to buy from the vendors and with the current economic hardship, where do we get money to keep buying a truck which is not even enough for a family every day? How do we cook and bathe our children or clean our homes and environment to keep sickness away, if we don’t have access to this precious gift?” another house wife, Teni, querried
However, reacting to the development, the Managing Director of the Niger State Water and Sewage Corporation, Mr. Gimba Isah, said the water work was doing its best to supply clean potable water to the people of the state, but for the recent erratic electricity supply to the state by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC.
He also hinged the challenge of providing water to the ongoing road construction in Minna, the state capital, which has forced the corporation to relocate many of its pipes affected by the road work to other locations of the town.
” The relocation of some of these pipes have really affected water supply in Minna. However, we have taken a palliative measure on how to address the issue, ” he added.
The World Water Day was marked on Friday, March 22, 2024 with the theme, ‘Water For Peace.’