LANDI KOTAL: The residents of Khyber Agency sweat for getting even a bucket full of drinking water as the region has been hit hard by shortage of water for almost two months.

Sources said that public health department failed to explore new water channels in the region as the decades-old well had dried up long due to prolonged dry spell that resulted in considerable drop in the underground water level.

They said that the department also failed to initiate new water supply schemes despite repeated requests by the residents of Landi Kotal, Malagori subtehsil of Jamrud and Sipah area of Bara.

The residents of Lowarra Maina village in Malagori told Dawn that the Kabul River was at a stone`s throw distance from their houses from where they fetched water in buckets and pitchers but public health department failed to supply water to them from the river.

In Sipah area of Bara, a local welfareorganisation is distributing water among people free of cost through water tankers.

But Sipah residents said that the quantity of the water they got from the tankers was not enough to fulfil their needs. They said that they bought water from private tankers.

In Landi Kotal, though the political administration arranged for free provision of drinking water through water tankers, the facility was largely misusedby the influential people, who have close contacts with the local officials.

Officials said that they paid a hefty bill of Rs1.5 million to the owners of water tankers every month for free provision of water to the residents of Landi Kotal. But at the same time they conceded that the facility was misused by some scrupulous elements as they either sold the water or the chit, issued to them for free provision of drinking water.The residents of Mirdadkhel and Peerokhel in Landi Kotal complained that the owners of tankers refused to provide free water to them as the areas, according to the tanker owners, were far flung and the amount they got for fuel was not enough for such long distance.

Shakir Afridi, a social worker in Sultanlchel area, told Dawn that selling water from official tankers or the chit issued by the administration had become a lucrative business as water had turned into the most `sought-after` commodity due to its acute shortage for over two months.

Meanwhile, the water pumping machine at Landi Khana near Torkham border that supplies water to Landi Kotal Bazaar, hospital, degree college and army camp also developed fault before the start of Ramazan.

An official in Landi Khana told Dawn that the machine was too old and could not pump water properly to two water reservoirs at Mirza Hill and another at a hilltop near Landi Botal Bazaar.

He said that the machine was sent to Peshawar for repair while the stand-by machine was also out of order since long.

Officials of public health department could not be approached for their comments despite repeated calls by this scribe.

However, the political administration officials said that a Rs22 million water supply scheme was approved for Landi Kotal that would take three year to complete.