Chinhoyi Bureau
SOME villagers and resettled farmers along the water pipeline supplying the decommissioned mining town of Mhangura have broken a section of the pipeline to tap water drawn from Hunyani River to irrigate their gardens. This has affected water

supplies in the town as the time for getting water supplies has been cut to about three hours a day. Villagers and some farmers along the more than 15 kilometre pipeline have vandalised bolts on joints linking the pipes while others have used picks to break the pipes and insert their own pipes to water their gardens.

In an interview recently Mhangura council chairperson Mr Isaac Charuma confirmed the developments adding that the situation had been going on for some time.
“We have had this problem for quite some time now and we would like to urge people to be considerate to others who rely on the same pipeline for water,” he said.
Council, he said, has had to attend to the pipe on several occasions in a bid to address supply challenges brought about by the vandalism of the pipes.

Vandalism of the pipe raised fears that the water pumps from Hunyani to Mhangura water treatment plant could be overworked leading to damage because of the need to pump longer hours to ensure that the storage tanks are full. Villagers interviewed said it was easier to use water from the pipe as boreholes and other sources of water cannot meet their needs.

“Although we are aware that our activities are affecting others along the pipeline we are left with no choice as we want to support our horticulture projects so that we can continue supplying people in the town with fresh produce,” said one villager.
The pumps were sourced around 2007 by Mhangura legislator Dr Douglas Mombeshora following an outcry over poor water supplies in the town.