THE cries from senior headman Mark Siadombozya of Chilindi community in Chief Chipepo’s area of Chirundu district about lack of clean and safe water should not fall on deaf ears.
This is because our bodies use water in all their cells, organs, and tissues to help regulate temperature and maintain other bodily functions. In short, water is life.
The Chirundu water issue is grave, considering that the people’s only major source, the local dam, has been heavily contaminated by human bathing in it and worse still, teenage girls throwing their aborted fetuses into it.
It is also highly dreadful that for the past three years the Chilindi community has been sharing their drinking water with their livestock, such as cattle, goats and pigs.
Headman Siadombozya is equally right to lash out at the local elected leadership for abandoning his community and failing to help solve the numerous challenges that his people face apart from water.
The absence of elected leaders, according to him, has made the water problem even more indefensible since on their own there is very little or nothing they can do.
This is in view of the fact that Mr Siadombozya had raised the water issue with relevant authorities but despite being promised action, the problem has still remained unresolved.
Headman Siadombozya further claims that despite numerous sensitization programmes and awareness messages through the media, the Chilindi community has never tasted clean and safe water. Sad indeed.
He further says that the only borehole water in the area has become too salty due to suspected uranium contamination and is therefore not fit for human consumption.
The water problem in Chilindi is severe and needs urgent attention from all concerned stakeholders because human life is at stake because soon, and very soon, people will resort to digging shallow wells for unsafe water for their use.
That should not be allowed to happen because apart from health challenges, who does not know that water is one of the most important substances on earth? All animals and plants must have water to survive.
If there was no water there would be no life on earth. Apart from drinking it to survive, people have many other usages for water.
Those with powers and ears let them rush to Chilindi community in Chirundu and offer solutions to water problems there. Juvenile promises to stay away
