The current extended drought has forced thousands of people in some areas
in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) to use whatever water they can get.
Local residents in Kupang, Timor
Tengah Selatan and Timor Tengah Utara, are reportedly consuming unhygienic
faecal-contaminated water from nearby dikes, as sources of fresh water have dried
up in the last few weeks.
"We're using dirty water
from a dike for drinking water. We have no choice," said Marice Kono, a
resident of Sainoni village, South Bikomi district, Timor Tengah Utara regency.
The dike, built by the provincial
administration in 1998, was originally aimed at providing water for cattle
farmers in the region.
But non-cattle farmers in Fenake
village and Sainoni village have now taken advantage of the dike, fetching
water for their daily consumption during the current dry season.
The people in the area, Kono
said, usually fetched water at dawn before herds of cattle headed to the dike
and defecated in the stream.
"For drinking, we let the
water settle overnight. The water will rise to the top and the dirt will sink
to the bottom," said Kono, adding that the water shortage had started in
August.
"As for other daily
activities, like bathing or washing clothes, we use the water directly without
any special treatment."
According to recent data from the
NTT administration, 13 of 21 regencies in the province have suffered severe
drought, which has affected food and water supplies.
An estimated 10,000 people are at
immediate risk due to drought and the number is likely to increase at the peak
of the dry season in October.
Kono said that the residents had
reported the issue to the administration, but their efforts were to no avail.
"So far, the administration
has yet to provide us with clean water. We feel neglected," Kono added.
People living along the shoreline
in Bena village, also in Timor Tengah Utara regency, even have to consume
brackish water, which has an unpleasant taste and smell.
"The brackish water tastes
saltier than freshwater, but not as bad as seawater. What can we do? There is
no other option," said Alfret Benu, who works as a coloured-pebble sorter
in Kolbano Beach.
Meanwhile, residents in Pitay
village in Sulamu subdistrict in Kupang regency have to walk more than 3
kilometres to get to a water source.
"I have reported this to
officers at the regency office, but they've given no clear response. I just
worry that the water crisis will soon lead to dehydration problems as many
people have to take a long walk to access the water," said Pitay village
chief Jarmud Tulle.
Head of the NTT's counselling and
food security agency, Alexander Sena, said that he would coordinate with the
central government to solve the problem.
NTT, along with Java and Bali,
are some of the regions hardest hit by the drought, the National Disaster
Mitigation Agency reported.
In a number of areas in
Yogyakarta, for instance, many people are forced to buy water for their daily
needs, while farmers in Central Java and West Java are facing harvest failures.
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