Kano residents have appealed to the state government to restore the public water supply ahead of the Eid el-Kabir festival to end the current hardship and prevent the outbreak of diseases.

On Sunday, a cross-section of residents in the metropolis said the government must end the current hardship by restoring the water supply.

Sani Imran, a resident of Karkasara, said the absence of public water supply had resulted in enormous hardship for the people.

“For the first time in over 40 years, public water supply has been shut down, public taps have dried up, and people have to travel hundreds of kilometres searching for water.

“Sometimes women and children have to wake up as early as 2:00 a.m. for water.

“Most people rely on public water supply, while others rely on local wells for their water supply, ” he said.

Mr Imran said the lack of public water supply had resulted in indiscriminate drilling of boreholes by individuals who could afford them.

“Sometimes, people have to travel as far as Yen Lemo to fetch water in boreholes owned by wealthy individuals; it is really a pathetic situation,” he said.

Haruna Ahmad, a resident of Darmanawa Quarters, corroborated the claim, saying his neighbour’s 15-year-old daughter was raped while trying to fetch water from a borehole at night.

“What happened was that there was no electricity throughout the day, and when it came in the night, she went with her sister to fetch the water, and unfortunately, she fell into the wrong hands.

“We have reported the case at the police station, and some arrests have been made.

“It’s really a sad situation; the government must live up to its responsibility by restoring the water supply,” Mr Ahmad said.

Ibrahim Bagobiri, a resident of Sharifai Zauren Tudu, said the water supply problem was not new to the area.

“The problem didn’t start today, and we are used to it because we buy water daily from hawkers who supply water from boreholes around.

“But sometimes you wake up without anything in your pocket; that’s where the problem comes in because the hawkers won’t give you water free,” he said.

But Hamza Ibrahim, a resident of Kurna Asabe, offered a different dimension.

“This place has never enjoyed public water supply, so we don’t even know what is called public water supply.

“Everybody relies on ‘Maigaruwa'( water hawkers) for his daily supplies; we buy a gallon of water for between N80 and N100 depending on the location, and the whole truck goes for about N1,500.

“This is how we have lived for years; we don’t care about public water supply. If they like, they should restore it; if they like, they can leave it,” he said.

On his assumption of office, Governor Abba Yusuf declared a state of emergency on supply, directing the state water board to submit its demands for the restoration of water supply for immediate action.

But many days after the declaration, the government had yet to take concrete steps to restore the supply.

(NAN)