U.S. Water News Online
SARAJEVO, Bosnia -- Since standing around in the open air
is extremely
hazardous in Sarajevo, water pumps being provided by the
International
Committee of the Red Cross are doing more than just providing
essential
drinking water supplies -- they are exposing fewer residents to
sniper fire
and artillery shelling. Over the past several weeks, reports Reuters,
at
least 10 people have been killed while standing in line at water
pumps.
Red Cross workers have drilled 75 new wells and have installed 80
hand pumps
in Sarajevo over the past two months. Even if the additional water
supplies
provide only partial relief from water shortages, "they help people
not to
seek water for hours every day," said a Red Cross official. Local
authorities
have advised citizens not to gather in large numbers around the water
wells,
and "Laundry prohibited" signs are posted at pumps across the city to
reduce
crowds.
"This is a miserable life, but at least I don't have to wait for
five or six
hours by the old pump we had three blocks away," a user of one of the
new Red
Cross hand pumps told Reuters.
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