Egypt

Water scarcity in Qena village causes hardship among residents

Residents in the village of Kallahin, in the Upper Egyptian village of Qena, continue to suffer from lengthy, daily water cuts, which result in many residents having to walk long distances to get water from mosques. 
 
Salah Abdel Sabour, one of the villagers, said water is available for only three hours a day. He urged officials to address the crisis as demand is expected to grow with the start of the new school year on Monday. 
 
He said the only alternative water source for residents is to bring jerrycans and buckets to take water from bathrooms in nearby mosques. 
 
Other neighboring villages quoted officials as saying that the shortages are to blame on defects in local water filtering units and the Nile River's falling water levels.
 
People at al-Kom al-Ahmar and Kom Yakoub, two other villages in Qena, said they have to buy water jerrycans for LE2 each to address their water needs, but complain that the situation adds to their financial burdens as they have to use six jerrycans per day.
 
Hany Hamdy, who heads the government’s water and drainage company in Qena, said the company responded to frequent complaints by sending water tanks to affected regions. Hamdy said the shortages were the result of falling river levels as well as maintenance work on the province’s local water network.
 
 
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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