GOV'T DEBUNKS RUMORS OF WATER SHORTAGE AND WELLS RUNNING DRY
Reacting to the rumors which spread like wildfire in the early hours of
Wednesday morning mostly by word of mouth, phone-calls and text
messages, the Minister of Information, Culture & Tourism Dr.
Laurence Konmla Bropleh said in a statement, which was heard live on
ELBC radio, that the Government of Liberia had no intention of spraying
wells--as one version of the rumor claimed--and urged parents and
guardians of small children to encourage their children to go to bed in
order to get ready for school.
One of the text messages received by a resident read like this: “there’s news about water situation…have u heard? Our whole neighborhood is outside down.”
The Minister said the thrust of the rumors centered on three claims: that someone had prophesied or dreamed that all the wells in Monrovia or elsewhere in the country would run dry by 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb 25 and that therefore everyone should fetch enough water; that wells would turn into blood; and that the caterpillar worms which plagued parts of central Liberia some weeks ago were going to overtake Monrovia and therefore the Government was going to spray wells.
According to some reports, as early as 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning, residents around ELWA Junction, AB Tolbert Road and the ELBC community, in Paynesville, were wide awake and seen carrying gallons of water in buckets, pots, and containers from various hand-pumps and wells to their homes.
The Minister who said he visited parts of central Monrovia in the early hours of the morning also said he saw residents, including small children in the streets fetching for water.
Meanwhile, it is way past 7 a.m. in Monrovia and elsewhere in the country and no reports of any well has been dried up or water shortage has occurred, which means that this so-called prophesy of an imminent water shortage and wells running dry in the country that sent shudders around Monrovia and elsewhere is false and ludicrous.
One of the text messages received by a resident read like this: “there’s news about water situation…have u heard? Our whole neighborhood is outside down.”
The Minister said the thrust of the rumors centered on three claims: that someone had prophesied or dreamed that all the wells in Monrovia or elsewhere in the country would run dry by 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb 25 and that therefore everyone should fetch enough water; that wells would turn into blood; and that the caterpillar worms which plagued parts of central Liberia some weeks ago were going to overtake Monrovia and therefore the Government was going to spray wells.
According to some reports, as early as 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning, residents around ELWA Junction, AB Tolbert Road and the ELBC community, in Paynesville, were wide awake and seen carrying gallons of water in buckets, pots, and containers from various hand-pumps and wells to their homes.
The Minister who said he visited parts of central Monrovia in the early hours of the morning also said he saw residents, including small children in the streets fetching for water.
Meanwhile, it is way past 7 a.m. in Monrovia and elsewhere in the country and no reports of any well has been dried up or water shortage has occurred, which means that this so-called prophesy of an imminent water shortage and wells running dry in the country that sent shudders around Monrovia and elsewhere is false and ludicrous.