Most Papuans consume rain, river water

Mon, 03/31/2008 10:45 AM | The Archipelago

JAYAPURA: A majority of Papuan people still consume rain and river water since 70 percent of villages in the provinces have no clean water facilities.

Head of the irrigation section at the provincial public works agency Yusuf Yambe said 2,900 of the province's 3,300 villages lacked clean water facilities.

He said his office planned to build clean water facilities, including water pumps, in 60 villages in 11 regencies by 2015.

Yambe said the absence of clean water had left villagers vulnerable to diarrhea, lung infection and skin diseases.

He said the death of 23 villagers in Pegunungan Bintang regency in January related to the consumption of river and rain water and the unhealthy environment in villages in the regency.

He added that in observance of World Water Day, the local government organized the planting of 1 million trees on Mount Cykloop on Saturday to help ensure the water supply to Jayapura. --JP

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