KARACHI We dont want any development schemes rather the government should provide us only drinking water at our villages. The water wells, which is the only source of drinking water in all the villages in District Badin have turned brackish due to steady intrusion of sea water, said locals residing in coastal villages, around 50 km far from Badin city. This scribe visited a number of villages in coastal area of Badin and observed miseries facing the rural population, living in abject poverty and lack of basis facility of drinking water. According to locals, the Shaikh Gharhi, Shaikh Kario, Haji Mallah, Chanesar Mallah, Majeed Mallah, Weedho Mandhro, Moryo Mandhro, Gaji Mallah, Bakhshan Mallah and other villages in the same number in coastal area are deprived of drinking water facility. Each village comprising 100 to 300 houses, where people dig wells to fetch sweet water as no such provision of fresh water facility provided them by the Sindh government. Most of the water wells in coastal area have either dried up or their water level has dropped down to 300 to 750 feet, making the water brackish and rendering it unfit for human consumption, said Banho Mallah, who goes into sea for fishing everyday. The underground water is brackish due to steady intrusion of sea water, he said, adding that people of coastal villages have no other option but to drink brackish water. The water borne-diseases like gastro and diarrhoea are common among the children due to use of salty water, said Suleman Shaikh, who owns sufficient area of land, but it has been turned into saline owing to the sea intrusion. There were no health and education facilities in coastal area, but lack of drinking water was our primary concerns, and we want nothing from the government, except drinking water facility, he said. The women of villages walk in groups for 4 to 5 km to fetch drinking water from far areas as male members of family go into the sea for fishing, Suleman said. Though, the costal area of Badin comes in the constituency of the Speaker National Assembly Fahmida Mirza and her husband Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, who is also Home Minster of province, but according to villagers, they have not seen priority at government level to provide them drinking water facility. During his visit of relief camps set up for coastal people who were evacuated in fear of cyclone 'Phet, the people from different villages approached Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, appealing him for grant of water supply schemes and to ensure flow of fresh water in small canal, 'Mirwah which used to suitable source of drinking water for all the villages situated in coastal area, he said, regretting that their appeal didnt get any attention. The fertile lands of District Badin which used to produce bumper crops are now turned into saline lands due to sea intrusion, especially of LBOD (Left Bank Outfall Drain). Though, the LBOD was constructed to dispose-off industrial waster of cities of lower parts of province and drainage water into sea. In contrast of disposing off draining water into sea, the LBOD project has increased the miseries of the locals through bringing sea water back due to its wrong design. However, the sub office of Pakistan Council of Research in water resources of Ministry of Science and Technology has conducted Physico-Chemical analysis of water samples, being used by the people of coastal area, declaring it unfit for human consumption. The Sindh government has allocated Rs3.5 billion for drinking water and sanitation schemes in annual budget for FY2010-11, but huge population of hundreds of thousands in coastal villages of District Badin are not on priority list of the governments budget.