Low rainfall leaves wells depleted in Mershing, South Darfur

The Abu Hamra villages in Mershing locality, South Darfur, are suffering from a severe shortage of drinking water.

“Abu Hamra is dependent on the aquifer that feeds the wells,” a villager explained to Radio Dabanga. “The water is almost depleted because of the poor rainfall this year.

“We now collect very muddy water from the wells. The smell of the water has changed and it has become unfit for drinking.”

The villager explained that the people are now forced to fetch water from a well more than three kilometres from Abu Hamra. “Long queues have developed near the well. The people leave their village in the Abu Hamra area in the early morning and return in the evening with two jerry cans of water.”

He said that technicians from the government’s Water and Sanitation Department (WES) have checked the hand pumps, but they also failed from lack of water to prime them.

The source further warned that the people in Abu Hamra may leave the area “out of despair”, and appealed to the local and state authorities to acknowledge the crisis and seek a solution.

“They should not forget that Abu Hamra contributes significantly to the production of vegetables that feed the local markets,” he added.