Takhtabai villagers migrating from homes due to water shortage

WHO reports says by 2030 about 3 billion people face water shortage

Muhammad Asif

Many of the Takhtabai tehsil residents in Mardan district are leaving their villages due to the water shortage in the area. In the Mazdoor Abad area of the tehsil, declining level of underground water has forced many to leave behind their ancestral properties and seek shelter in areas with water availability.

Mian Mohibullah, a local told TNN that for past five years they are facing water issue and tried to address it in many ways. However, he said that the issue was further aggravating.

He blamed the paucity of rains for the water shortage and added that whenever there were rains, the water level raised. However, added that when there were no rains, they were forced to fetch water from neighboring villages.

In addition to this, locals also blamed the area’s sewerage system for the intensity of the issue.

Pakistan is already among the water stressed nations; however, the recent floods have further exacerbated the water shortage problem.

However, Mah Noor Gul and Rabia Rashid, two botany students at the Government Girls Degree College Mardan have prepared a plant based system for water purification

Rabia Rashid told TNN that there were such plants existed which have the power to suck the harmful material from underground water sources and help cleaning the water.

She said that employing this system will address water issue of those areas with water issues, and then it can address the 60 to 80 percent of the issue.

Rabia said that willow, bamboo and other such trees can have the capacity to absorb harmful elements from underground water.

Environmentalist Imdadullah quoting a World Health Organization (WHO) report said there were more seven millions people across the world have no access to clean drinking water.

He said that by 2030 about 3 billion people will lack access to clean drinking water.

Imdadullah said that water shortage was a serious issue and if it was issue was not taken seriously more and more people from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be forced to migrate from their villages.