CHAKWAL, April 30: What to talk of other necessities of life, the residents of Waulah village are crying for water. The village has a symbolic significance as one of its brave sons Lt-Col Tanvir is buried deep under the avalanche at Siachen’s Gayari sector and has (most probably) been without water for more than three weeks now.

Back home, his near and dear ones have also been hit by a severe water shortage as level of the commodity in the nearby revered pond of Katas Raj, from where water was being supplied to the village, touched dead level.

The villagers while narrating their ordeal to Dawn said they were left with no option except buying water to drink. “We used to fetch water from a well located in the village but when it ran dry we installed water pumps at the pond”, told Malik Mohammad Ismail, the chairman of village’s water supply committee.

He revealed that a scheme of water supply at the cost of Rs17 million was sanctioned for the village by the Punjab government but later it was cancelled due to shortage of funds.

“We installed more and more pipes in it to get water but now they have run dry and we have to buy water for meeting our essential needs”, said Raja Mohammad Javed another villager.

Sub-Divisional Officer of Public Health Department Mohammad Ramzan said: “There is no water supply scheme on cards for the village”.

Talking to Dawn, MPA Malik Tanvir Aslam Sethi said, “The villagers have recently informed me about the water shortage issue and I would try to get a supply scheme approved for them”, he assured.