North Darfur water pumps need repairs for summer

A drinking water crisis looms in Zamzam camp for displaced people in El Fasher, according to community leaders. “Many water pumps are non-operative.”

The approximately 229,000 displaced people in Zamzam in North Darfur, one of the largest camps of Darfur, might face a severe drinking water crisis this coming summer. Yesterday a sheikh in the camp reported: “There are 79 water pumps in the camp, 39 of which are non-operative.

“All the residents of the camp, as well as residents from neighbouring villages, rely entirely on these pumps. People stand in long lines in front of the few working pumps to get water.”

The Sheikh expressed hope that local organisations and authorities will dig wells and establish water engines to immediately resolve the water shortage in the camp.

City pumps

The Minister of Urban Planning of North Darfur, Kamal Abu Shouk announced the inventory of more than 1,600 pumps in El Fasher city. Of these, 42 were rehabilitated and others were upgraded to work with submersible pumps for the coming summer period.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Abu Shouk reported the drilling of seven new wells. Water tankers will transport the water from the sites of the reservoirs to city districts, in coordination with El Fasher locality and all organisations working in the water field.

The minister made his announcement during the the celebration of World Water Day in El Fasher. He called on the popular committees in the city to raise public awareness about the effective use and management of water resources in the districts.

Meanwhile a water reservoir south of El Fasher, in Abu Zirega, currently suffers from low groundwater levels which resulted in thousands of residents fetching water from an area elsewhere.

In Sudan, only 68 per cent of households have access to basic improved water, and about 32 per cent of the population is drinking contaminated water from unimproved water sources, the UN children’s fund Unicef in Sudan reported on World Water Day.