Water vending business is back in parts of Nanyuki with boda boda riders selling a 20 liters jerrican at Sh30.
In the past three weeks, many of the boda boda riders have stopped transporting passengers as they diverted to selling water to the populated areas, after the Nanyuki Water (Nawasco) announced rationing of the commodity following the low water level in Nanyuki river.
In a spot check, Tuk tuk riders too have small water tanks ranging between 500 litres and 1,000 liters fitted with diesel run pumps to easen distribution of the commodity.
Investors with construction sites, are using the water bowsers in the transportation of the commodity from the nearby boreholes, after the pipes went dry.
Peter Kiogora says the Ichuga area is fertile for water vending as over the years the residents have experienced water shortage, pleading with the service provider to sink a bore hole for use during the dry spell.
” This the time the water vendors make a ‘kill’ through selling unsafe water fetch from polluted sources,” said Kiogora adding that he buys at least four jerricans for his household.
Samuel King’ori a boda boda rider says always in March he is forced to ferry water to his customers homes in the Ruai area owing to the rationing programmes.
” This is the best time as boda boda operators trusted by their customers are offered a chance of delivering water to their homes,” said King’ori. Jane Wambui says the majority of families in Ichuga and Majengo which are densely populated are forced to rely on bottled water to protect the members from water borne related diseases.
“With the growing population in Nanyuki, the government is duty bound to explore alternative sources of commodities,” said Wambui.
Jamleck Thuranira, a resident in Daiga, says the major problem lies in Meru County where rogue farming communities divert river flows for selfish interests.
He said the water resource authority over the years has failed to deal with rogue farmers and multinationals in the flower farming industry.
“It has been a song by elected leaders in Laikipia that the concern behind diverting river flows will be addressed, ” he said. In Nginyii village, Peter Kamonde blames the water officials for entertaining rogue farmers upstream to divert the river water to their man-made dams.
In Laikipia county, Kamonde said the farmers in Daiga, Muramarati and Kariunga live in pain as they watch their crops dry due to lack of water for irrigation.
” We live in difficult conditions as our crops, when they do well, are destroyed by elephants and buffallos from the Lolldaiga Hills and now our cry for water lands in deaf ears of the leaders in both administration and political offices,” said Kamonde.
Former Laikipia East Mp Amin Deddy Mohammed says there is a need for an approach to end the water challenges in the country.
” There is a need for a baseline survey of a multi-sectoral agency to help unblock the illegal intakes erected to divert the water from the rivers,” said Deddy.