20,000 people in danger in drought-hit Tana Delta

Pastoralist in Assa location, Tana Delta Sub County are in dire need of water following a severe drought that has hit the area, affecting close to 1500 households in seven villages.

More than 20,000 people and close to 100,000 heads of cattle are now left to depend on two boreholes that are also drying up.

The situation has left a 20 year old man dead after the borehole he was fetching water in caved in and buried him alive, with three others nursing serious injuries.

A spot check by the press revealed that the residents and their livestock have to operate in turns to have access to water. 

Women are the most hit in the expansive area, with many having to walk more than 50 kilometers in search of the precious commodity.

Mrs Hadija Gobu, who has a one-month-old baby, has not seen her baby in three days after she left home to look for water at the only well in Iddi Village.

Human rights activist Mr Ali Wario told Citizen Digital that seven schools, three dispensaries and several shopping centres have been deserted since the drought begun three months ago.

Wario expressed fears that if nothing is done on time people and livestock might start dying. He further called for the intervention from the county and national governments to avert possible disaster.

The chief of Assa Location, Mr Abdulrahman Shore, said residents spend up to three days at the well with their livestock before getting their turn.

He added that the situation has also affected the price of livestock at the nearby livestock markets in Garsen, which is 150 kilometers away and Ikutha in Kitui County

He is now requesting the government to re-introduce destocking and restocking to save residents from further losses.

During the Narc regime, the then Livestock Minister Mohamed Kuti introduced the buying of livestock during drought, a programme that saved the livelihoods of thousands of pastoralists. 

Mr Isaka Balesa from Iddi Village said digging a borehole was tedious, noting that it takes a dozen men one week to dig for water 30 to 40 feet into the ground.

He appealed on the government to come to their rescue and drill the boreholes for them to avert further crisis.