• Residents buy sachet water to bathe, cook
From Judex Okoro, Calabar
Calabar residents now resort to sachet water for
bathing and cooking, following acute shortage of drinking water.
For over three months, Cross River State Water Board has not
pumped water to customers, making life uncomfortable for consumers in the
metropolis.
Dailu Sun gathered that, even before the current scarcity,
water pumped to houses and business premises were not treated.
Major streets affected include Ekpo Abasi, Mayne Avenue, Inyamg,
Yellow Duke, Ette Agbor, Satellite Town, Ediba, 8 Miles, Calabar South, Federal
Housing, Aka-Ifa, State Housing, Marian and 8 Miles.
As alternative, consumers now patronise sachet water dealers
and boreholes, leading to increase in demand of sachet water in the metropolis.
One resident, Mrs Eme Offiong of Enymaba Street, Calabar
South, said for over one year, the Water Board has not supplied water to home,
and confirmed that they now resort to buying bags of sachet water.
“We are in hell around Old Calabar of Nkwa, Enyamba and
Anderson Streets as we have not tasted potable water from the Water Board for
over one year. Before now, we used to have uninterrupted supply.
“For my family to survive, we buy at least seven bags of sachet
water a day, to cook and bathe. Each bag costs N150 just as the Mai ruwa who
supply a barrow of water containing 10 gallons of 10 litres each at N500.”
Another resident, Mr. Richard Okon of Ekpo Abasi axis,
added: “We have not had water from Cross River State Water Board Limited for
months running and they are still bringing bills for us to pay.
“I buy at least four bags of sachet water everyday, to bathe
while I buy six bags , at weekends for cooking.
“I can tell you that this scarcity of water has made life
unbearable for Calabar residents and I am even thinking of going back to my
village where we have stream.”
In his reaction, Managing Director of Cross River State
Water Board Limited, Prof. Godwin Igile, said: “Yes, it is true there is no
water in Calabar metropolis.
“This is because we are carrying out repairs of our
facilities. Besides, they have vandalised and stolen our equipment, making it
difficult for us to operate at optimum capacity.
“For a very long time now, we have not done maintenance, so,
we decided to carry it out and we don’t know when it will be completed so, we
don’t know when we will start pumping water for residents.
“I took over in December 2015 and we had water all through
last year. I plead with consumers to bear with us while we are trying to give
them potable water.”
Africa Center for Clin Gov
Research & Patient Safety
@ HRI West Africa Group - HRI WA
Consultants in Clinical Governance Implementation
Publisher: Health and Medical Journals
8 Amaku Street Housing Estate, Calabar
Cross River State, Nigeria
Phone No. +234 (0) 8063600642
Visit Website: www.hriwestafrica.com
Joseph Ana has a cumulative continuous practice experience of over 40-years in
Nigeria, United Kingdom and Ghana as a Primary Health Care Physician, Public
Health Expert, General and Urological Surgeon, Health Policy Expert and
Implementer, Medical Educator and Trainer..
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