Abuja residents lament three-month water scarcity

Residents of Karu, a suburb in the Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory are groaning over the lingering water scarcity in the area in the past three months.

The residents, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria in separate interviews on Monday in Abuja, said that the situation was disheartening, especially for those who don't have boreholes or dug-up wells in their compound.

The water scarcity, according to the FCT Waterboard, was due to a damaged pipeline feeding a major water treatment plant in Usuma Dam, Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

The residents, who said that the water scarcity had persisted for over three months, expressed disappointment that they were not warned in time for them to store water to be able to survive the scarcity.

“Lack of sufficient water has posed a great challenge to me because I now buy water,” said  Modester Ngwu, a hair saloon owner in Karu village.

She added, “I have never bought water because I have a customer who allows me to fetch water from her house.

”But with this water scarcity, I now buy water from water vendors, and this is affecting my business.

”This is because customers won't agree to pay extra money for my services, and this makes it difficult for me to break even.”

Ngwu pleaded with the government to look into the issue with urgency because they have been suffering from it for over three months and nothing has been done yet.

Mrs Gloria Chijioke, a resident, expressed her displeasure over the scarcity and the high cost of water.

Chijioke added that though there was a dug-up well in the estate, the water from it was not clean enough for cooking.

She said “I make use of the well water for washing clothes, while I use sachet water for cooking and drinking.

”This has increased my spending tremendously in the last three months.”

Chijioke said she now buys water from water vendors for washing since the well has dried up.

She added that the cost of water from water vendors has also increased tremendously.

”I used to buy a truck of water of eight or 10 cans for N1,200 but due to increase in demand, the price has been raised to N2,000,” she said.

Mr Musa Nuhu, a laundry worker at Karu, however, said that a lot of his customers are complaining of the increase in the cost of laundry services, and this is also affecting his business.

“We are hardly patronised now because customers are complaining of the increase in prices.

”We all know how things are now in Nigeria, and coupled with the water scarcity, we have no choice than to increase our prices,” Nuhu said.

(NAN)