Cyclone Gonu: Bhatkalis Organise Water Supply in Muscat

Ruwi, though hardly affected when Gonu cyclone struck Oman, was literally in the throes of a severe water crisis for more than 10 days. After Gonu was gone, trouble in the form of water crisis hit the capital area. And the worst affected was Ruwi which is densely-populated. With the desalination plant in Al Ghubra non-functional the residents were finding it hard to collect water. More than 70 per cent of Bhatkalis based in Oman live in Ruwi.
Considering the plight of people, the Bhatkali community sprang into action and organised the water supply throughout the day and night. They bought more than 25 cans and arranged among themselves volunteers. For the first two days the well at Al Falah Masjid, one of the two sources of water in Ruwi High Street and its environs, was a boon to residents.
As the water requirement further built up, they were in need of tankers as people taking water individually from wells could not fulfil the needs of the residents.
Faced with severe water crunch, they requested the Galfar company and Sultan Soud to spare two big tankers for Ruwi area. Says Aftab Kola, who co-ordinated with them: “Considering the plight, the Galfar Company obliged and sent two big tankers to cater to Ruwi area. For two days the Galfar tanker was stationed in Ruwi distributing water continuously with a break of only three hours from 3am to 6am.”
Every time one can see hundreds of people standing in queue to collect water. One tanker was diverted to Indian School Muscat area after it was known that area is also grappling with water problem.
When the water problem took a worst turn the Bhatkali community contacted Sultan Saoud, general manager Sultan Al Shidhany Trading, who was providing water-filled tankers to the affected areas. Says Aftab Kola: “When we told brother Sultan about the problem in Ruwi, he immediately sent one 10,000 gallons tanker and told us to keep it with us for as many time as we require.” The tanker even after three days is still supplying water as some pockets are yet to get tap water.
No area in the capital saw such a continuous supply of water.
Bhatkali community involvement came as a boon for the Ruwi high street residents as otherwise a tanker once in a while could hardly take care of thousands of people in Ruwi. The Bhatkali community youngsters manned the distribution point day and night. Says Arshad Ekkeri, secretary of the Bhatkal Muslim Jamat, Muscat: “Our Bhatkal boys did an excellent job by helping people to get water. I do not want to take names of any individual as all of them who were with us did a great job.”