There is an outcry at Kariminu II dam as water pipes leak destroying farms in Gatundu village in Kiambu county. Families in Karera village in Gatundu South, are counting major losses after a water pipe in the Kariminu II dam project started leaking leaving a huge destruction in their farms.
More than 15 farms have been destroyed by the water from the dam, as food crops including maize, beans, bananas, cassava, yams, nappier grass. The residents said the fruit trees including avocados have dried up owing to the leaking water pipes.
The group led by Loise Muthoni, Kamau Mwamba and Joseph Kahunga said the villagers are staring at hunger since they cannot get any harvest from their farms.
They said that the water that has damaged their farms for the last two months reducing them to beggars. Muthoni said that theyāve been relying on their farms to eke a living including selling avocados adding that all their crops have dried up.
They said that their countless pleas to have the matter addressed by Athi Water Works Development Agency, the projectās implementing agency, has fallen on deaf years since nothing has been done to end the leakage. Regina Njeri, an granny whose farm has is affected decried destroying their crops, the spilling water has left them grappling with severe colds especially at night and swarms of mosquitoes.
They called for the governmentās intervention through Athi Water Services Board (AWSB) to have the matter addressed and also to compensate them for the losses they have incurred. The residents also want the government to compensate them for the damages the water has caused to their soil claiming that for about 10 years, they cannot grow anything on the destroyed farms.
