4,000 villagers in Thatta: SCF installs four RO plants to expand safe drinking water access

In Thatta, a coastal district in Sindh, SCF has installed four community-based Reverse Osmosis (RO) filtration plants to provide improved access to safe drinking water for around 4,000 villagers. These plants were set up in Khamiso Samo, Bodo Redhar, Suleman Samo, and Adam Lashari villages under UCs Bijora and Garho, as part of the Restoration of Social Services and Climate Change Resilience Project.

Community members prioritized the schemes through participatory Village Development Plans (VDPs) during meetings held in all four villages. SCF representatives inspected the final-stage construction and installation work with Village Organizations and received positive feedback from community members on the quality and progress of the work.

Javed Hussain, Executive Director of SCF, stated that coastal communities are increasingly facing issues such as brackish groundwater, high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), seawater intrusion, and declining freshwater availability. He emphasized that access to safe drinking water is becoming a serious challenge for these communities, and the upcoming RO plants will soon provide a solution for around 4,000 villagers.

SCF's Project Manager, Yaqoob Ahmed Brohi, highlighted the importance of community participation in the planning, monitoring, and sustainability of the schemes. Mubarak Samo, President of the Village Organization in Khamiso Samo, shared that safe drinking water had been a long-standing need in the village, with women and children often traveling long distances to fetch water, as local groundwater remains brackish.

Community representatives pledged to take responsibility for the operation, maintenance, and protection of the RO plants after handover, ensuring their long-term sustainability.