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Sharjah residents face water woes

SHARJAH — Despite an earlier assurance by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) that August will bring a reprieve from the ongoing water crisis, the problem persists.

And residents of Sharjah are demanding an end to their miseries caused by the acute water shortage in several buildings over the past four days.

They complain that lack of water has become a major issue in the emirate and is particularly being felt in the industrial areas of Sharjah as well as Rolla, Al Mussalla, Al Butaina Rafia, Al Nabba and Maysalon, Al Ghaweer.

The residents, frustrated that their numerous attempts to contact Sewa proved futile, called the Khaleej Times Hotline instead to voice their grievances. They said that SEWA seems to be turning a deaf ear to their complaints. "None of our complaints are met with any action and families with little children are left high and dry without water in the hot summer months," said many of them. Only last month, Abdul Rahman Al Suliman, head of the public relations department at Sewa announced in the media that "beginning August the water scarcity problem will be completely resolved and no locality in the emirate will face any such problem in the future.”

Saleem Al Deen, a resident of Al Yasmeen building in Sharjah Industrial Area, said that the water supply in his building is available for only one hour in the morning and in the evening, which is simply not enough. “I have not taken a bath for the past four days just to save water for my children and for ablution,” he said, disclosing he tried to contact the authority several times, but nobody answers the phone at the SEWA.

Eisa Al Ali, a UAE national residing in Rafia area, said that for two days they have been suffering from water scarcity in his villa and in the whole neighbourhood. “The water supply is for a very brief period during the day and entirely.” "I was forced to buy water for washing clothes and cooking, he disclosed, stating that SEWA's 992 emergency number is either busy, or nobody bothers to answer. I finally visited the SEWA office personally and urged Sewa officials to resolve this problem at least for a month to give us immediate relief," Ali said.

SEWA has at present allocated ten tanks to supply free water in the affected areas. Sewa officials have also urged the public to approach their water supply section to get free water tankers if they are facing acute water shortage, he pointed out.

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