For months, Dori, the provincial capital of the Sahel region, has been blocked by armed terrorist groups who are blocking roads and preventing any supplies. But since the beginning of the hot season, it is also the water supply that is lacking. So much so that people took to the streets this week to draw attention to their difficulties.
“A 20-liter container costs 200 CFA francs and a barrel costs 2,500 CFA francs,” laments a resident of Dori. Today, the taps in several neighborhoods are completely dry. To get supplies, you have to brave the armed men and go to the wells on the outskirts of the city, or the pond, outside. “Some have made a business out of it,” explains a resident. Just for the transport of the barrel of water from the pond, it takes 1,500 francs. »
According to a source close to the municipality, the National Office for Water and Sanitation, produces only 70 cubic meters of water per hour, for needs estimated at 110 cubic meters. And 12 km from Dori, the Yakouta dam station has been out of service since an attack in June 2021. The situation is all the more critical, as Dori now hosts nearly 70,000 internally displaced people. Its population has more than doubled.
According to a source close to the authorities, a mixed team of defense and security forces has been in Yakouta for a few days to restore the city’s water supply as quickly as possible.