When the main generator of Shaqra town in South Lebanon broke down, the community of 20,000 residents lost its access to water. Shaqra’s water is pumped from a municipal well powered by electricity supplied by a generator. An urgent request was put in to UNIFIL’s Nepalese Battalion (NEPBATT) by the mayor of Shaqra, Mr. Ali Saleh, to assist in bringing in a backup generator to reestablish the flow of water to the community.
UNIFIL’s Nepalese Battalion responded without hesitation. Using their UN mobile crane NEPBATT transported a generator from another part of town to the location of the well. On the ground, two Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) soldiers joined NEPBATT’s Engineers team, CIMIC officers and members of the community to position the generator and connect it to the well pump.
By midday on 22 July the residence of Shaqra once again had clean flowing water at their disposal.
UNIFIL assists the local communities whenever it can, while continuing to conduct its peacekeeping activities throughout its area of operations, as mandated by Security Council Resolution 1701.