Caption: Residents from the Slota Slum in Athi River town, Machakos County queening for water recently/Nation.
Residents from Athi River town in Mavoko, Machakos County are experiencing an acute water shortage.
A spot check conducted by this writer on Wednesday revealed that water taps in the town and its environs had gone completely dry.
According to the residents, they had been forced to make long and unending search for water in vain for the last one week.
"Taps in this town have always trickled water intermittently like medicine from a syringe, we have gotten used to the situation. The situation has however worsened in the last one week," said resident Jane Ndinda.
"There is no water, we are now buying the commodity from an investor who owns a private bore hole at the Site Estate and the que their is usually too long," Ndinda said.
Ndinda said price for salty water was retailing at Sh 30 up from Sh 20 , "Most of the water vendors are criss crossing the town with idle donkeys ferrying jerricans."
She said majority of the well off residents were drilling bore-holes to beat the perennial problem.
"Yesterday while passing through the Njuguini Slum in Athi River, I saw locals fetching dirty water from a bore hole that is stillbeing drilled," Ndinda noted.
Ndinda said there was possibility for water borne diseases in the area if authorities fail to intervene in time.
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