BAJIMBA COMMUNITY FACED BY ACUTE WATER SHORTAGE

By Emmanuel Awari-Jalingo

Bajimba Community in Gassol Local Government of Taraba state is one among the communities faceing severed cases of acute shortage of portable drinking water.

Their only source of water during the dry season is well water which can hadly serve the community satisfactorily. Heat by this lack of portable water supply the community recenty came up with a way to ensure the distribution of water from the only functional well in the area.

Nasarawa Reporters gathered that the community has made it a point of law that each member willing to make use of the well is only allowed to fetch water from the well between 12.am to 6.am daily.

The rule was enforced to ensure that the water goes round all the households and allow time for water to be generated to meet the needs of the households.

Some Community members told our Correspondent that the action became necessary so as to have enough water to go round each household.

“It has been the ritual every day except during the rainy season when there is water everywhere.

“the well has been the only reliable source of water to the community”

“the only borehole in the community has broken down and efforts to repair it had failed”

According to them, the pressure on the lone well but everyone in the community has been getting water from it everyday except during the rainy season when there is water everywhere.

The Ward Head of the community, Mr James Dauda, who took our reporter round the well, said it has been of great help to them.

“Once the rainy season is over, it is this well that gives us water and that is why we regulate time for fetching water from it. We have another well but it has collapsed, and the only borehole has broken down too,” he said.

Dauda explained that the self-enforced regulation is necessary and every member of the community obeys the rule.

“As you see there is nobody around the well but as from 11.30pm people start trooping and fetching water which starts at 12am and stops by 6am. That is the rule,” he said.

He lamented that several politicians have promised to repair the borehole and sink additional one but they have always failed to do so after winning election.

The Ward Head said apart from the water problem, the community also has no road, functional health facility, and school.

He called on the local and state governments to assist them by providing them with basic amenities.