Acute water shortage has hit Pader Town Council, its environs some parts of neighboring Sub counties in Pader and Agago districts since last week due to inconsistent power supply.
Residents of Pader town council and the neighboring villages of Kineni and Otong in Pukor and Ogom Sub Counties in Pader district, Lalira and Corner Kwon-Kic in Lamiyoo Sub County, Agago district have gone without tap water since Saturday last week.
Teddy Atenyo, a resident of Papir village, says that the crisis has now forced residents to share water with animals for drinking and cooking from unsafe sources. Atenyo says that their pleas to National Water and Sewerage Corporation-NWSC to fix the problem have fallen on deaf ears.
Josephine Acaci, who owns a hotel in Pader town Council, says that the crisis has affected business, which heavily relies on water. According to Acaci, her workers have to travel to the neighboring villages to fetch clean water where they spend many hours in long queues and at times come back with empty containers.
Sisto Komagum, a resident of Lagwai zone, says that the decommissioning of all boreholes within the town council in 2015 has compounded the situation. He wants the decommissioned boreholes restored, saying they can provide an alternative source of water when the need arises.
Godfrey Kilama Geoffrey, the Pader Senior District Health Inspector, says learning institutions, public places, and residents have raised concerns about the absence of clean water.
According to Kilama, water is the most essential weapon in the fight COVID-19 but on the contrary, most homes and public places don’t have water, which compromises the implementation of the Standard Operating Procedures- SOPs to curtail the spread of the pandemic.
The NWSC Pader Branch manager, Patrick Okumu acknowledges the water crisis but dismisses claims that the entire town is cut off. He says water users in the low-lying areas are adequately receiving water supply.
He attributes the water problem to the current power blackout, saying they are currently relying heavily on generators to pump water, which can’t adequately serve all consumers.
When contacted Simon Ojok Odoch, the chairperson board of Pader Abim Community Multi-Purpose Electricity Cooperatives Society-PACMECS Ltd revealed that the power blackout was because of the ongoing repairs on their grid.
Odoch however faulted unscrupulous people for vandalizing key installations and setting bushfires, which affect the electricity infrastructure.
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