Crisis in Nyeri as rivers dry up

Over 3,000 residents of Kieni East Sub County in Nyeri are staring at possible starvation following the drying up of streams that supply them with water for domestic use and farming.

The residents, whose crops have withered, are afraid that they might soon run out of food and fodder for their animals, a factor they fear could lead to massive losses.

In Muthu-Ini village, residents are forced to walk for more than two kilometers to fetch water for domestic from the only flowing river whose water volumes are also ebbing.

Nancy Wangui, a resident, said that she has already incurred hefty losses after all crops in her four- acre farm stunted before drying up.

Another resident, Margret Wangu, said that she is solely relying on bales of hay to feed her cows and the price of the hay has sky-rocketed.

Residents of the neighboring Kinyaiti village are also facing similar problems and are now calling on the government to finish up drilling a bore hole that was abandoned in 2007.