LAKKI MARWAT: Residents of Haqdadabad area on Tuesday demonstrated at Kargil Chowk in Lakki city against water shortage and lack of cleanliness.

The protesters said the area had been facing water shortage for two weeks but the relevant authorities were indifferent to their misery.

They also complained heaps of garbage were scattered all over the city, while drains overflowed due to the inefficiency of the municipal committee.

Shouting slogans and holding banners, protesters held the chief municipal officer responsible for their problems.

Islahi Falahi committee chairman Jamil Ahmad Khan said the locality had been short of drinking water for two weeks but the municipal committee was unresponsive.

He said the people had to buy water from private suppliers at exorbitant rates or get water from the houses, where pressure pumps were installed.

Jamil Ahmad said a group was involved in selling water from the municipal committee`s main tank in city bazaars with the connivance of local officials related to water supply department of the civic body.

He said it was unfortunate that water was unavailable for those paying water tax regularly.

Former school headmaster Haji Bashir Ahmad said officials of the municipal body didn`t repair faulty tube wells though funds were available for the purpose.

He said the civic body had awarded a contract for the repairs of faulty water schemes in the urban locality, but to no avail.

`So far, no steps haven`t been taken to initiate repairs on tube wells,` he said.

Other speakers said the municipal committee was overstaffed due to the largescale political appointments by the successive governments and that it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

They also complained garbage dumps and drains flowing with stagnant water and filth could cause the outbreak of diseases, especially polio, in the area.

The protesters warned that they would besiege the offices of the municipal committee if water supply was not restored to the area within two days.

They dispersed after the chief municipal officer showed up and assured them of early repairs of the faulty tube wells.