A woman fetching water from a pity in Bimbagu South
The people of Bimbagu South in the Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri district of the North East region are compelled to drink polluted and unhygienic water due to the lack of potable water in the community.
The residents are forced to dig into a dried up stream and wait for water to surface from the underground in order for them to get water.
Residents mostly women use the contaminated water for their household chores such as cooking, bathing, washing and other activities because they do not have any other option even though they know they are at risk of being infected with waterborne diseases.
A visit to the Bimbagu South community by DGN Online saw residents fetching polluted water from a pit they dug in search for potable water.
Madam Kubuk Grace, a native of the community lamented about the rate at which community members get infected with strange diseases and attributed it to the contaminated water they drink.
“ People in this community are infected with some strange disease and anytime they visit the hospital they are told to be careful with the kind of water they drink but we don’t have any option than what we what we have now our dams and streams are even dried up and we have to dig and get water from the underground so my brother we are suffering.”
According to her , they have appealed to the Bunkpurugu MP, DCE and other individuals to come to their aid.
She revealed that most girls in the community have dropped out of school because they walk long distances in search of water and by the time they come back home they are late for school.
“If a child goes out in search of water and comes back at noon she can’t go to school because the school is also located in a different community and she has to walk there.”
Madam Kubuk, therefore, appealed to the government, organizations, and individuals to come to their aid and provide them with potable water.
A youth leader in the Bimbagu South community, Liwaal Mark Mumuni, wondered why the present and past governments have abandoned the community even though they have been voting since 1992.
He disclosed that the community lacks electricity , clean water , schools, roads , health center among others.
“ These are some of the reasons why we refused to vote in the 2020 elections because we don’t see why we should continue voting whilst those we are voting for do not even remember us in terms of development.”
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) VI, to which Ghana is a signatory, talks about ensuring available and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
FROM Eric Kombat, Bimbagu South