Sections of the village have been without clean drinking water for a month with many turning to the untreated river water for their daily needs. Although many residents said they boil the water before drinking it, authorities have raised alarm that the shortage may lead to an outbreak of deadly water borne diseases like cholera. Children are sometimes spotted drinking directly from the river.
Some residents told The Monitor Tuesday that the water shortage has left them with no choice but to turn to the river for bathing. In his speech, North West District Council chairman, Tebogo Bethia called on the residents to adopt good "hygienic practices to minimise risk of getting water borne diseases. "Drinking untreated river water can result in an outbreak of water borne diseases such as cholera," he said. Bethia said the flooding of Thamalakane further poses the risk of malaria outbreak. He said although numbers of malaria reported cases remain below epidemic threshold there is need for strengthened usage of mosquito nets by the community to prevent anopheles mosquito bites which cause the disease.
