Children of Sistan and Baluchestan: Victims of Water Scarcity and Crocodiles
The director general of the Environment Department of Sistan and Baluchestan says all victims of crocodiles are children who are forced to approach their habitats during hot seasons in search of water. A Baluch teacher has stated that a crocodile drowned his student underwater.
The newspaper “Entekhaab” investigated crocodile victims in Sistan and Baluchestan and published a detailed report on the fate of young Baluch victims; children whose water crisis has brought them closer to the habitat of ghandus (short-snouted native crocodiles).
Hava was only 10 years old and due to the water crisis in Moula Abad village in Sarbaaz county, her right hand has been permanently disabled.
Hava herself narrates the story of losing her right hand: “I had gone to the riverside to wash clothes when a crocodile grabbed my hand to pull me into the water. My sister pulled me out of the water by my hair, but the crocodile came out of the water anyway and chased us. Blood was pouring from my hand, but out of fear we ran all the way home with my sister.”
Hava’s mother recalls the water shortage in the region with complaint and says: “This place is full of crocodiles, but because we don’t have water we are forced to wash our clothes in this river. A water tanker comes once a month to deliver water and most of the time it’s broken. We have no choice, but I won’t allow Hava to go near the water to wash anything anymore.”
Teacher: The crocodile held my student underwater until he suffocated
Nasir Baluchzadeh, a Baluch teacher, speaks of his 9-year-old student Alireza from “Azati” village who was suffocated by a crocodile underwater. The teacher says: “If Alireza were alive, he should be sitting in a middle school classroom now. When the crocodile suffocated him, he was in third grade of elementary school.”
The village teacher says that now, after several years and the deaths of several children in recent years due to lack of sufficient water in the region, water supply problems remain in place and residents only have access to piped water once a week and must bring water from the river for their other needs.
Vahid Pourmardān, the director general of the Environment Department of Sistan and Baluchestan, says no serious measures have been taken to address the water crisis in the southeast of the country, and 100 percent of incidents involving injuries and deaths caused by crocodiles in recent years have involved children.
This local official explains that adults understand the danger of crocodiles and do not approach them, but children, due to their playfulness and the lack of recreational facilities for them in the region, go to these ponds to play. In these circumstances, the crocodile senses danger and attacks to protect its habitat.
Pourmardān attributes part of the crocodile danger to the region’s water supply problem and says: “The villages in the region are extensive and there are 600,000 hectares of short-snouted crocodile habitat. Pipelines have been installed in the region, but when there is peak water consumption in summer, it is expected that proper planning will take place.”
He continues: “Because when the water to an area or village is cut off, water shortage causes problems such as poor sanitation, but in other cases when a village’s water is cut off, people’s lives are in danger. Therefore, water and sewage authorities must set targets for this issue.”
The director general of the Environment Department of Sistan and Baluchestan expressed hope that water supply to villages will begin next year, and that officials will also take measures to provide play and recreational facilities for children.
Three thousand and twenty-four villages in Sistan and Baluchestan are deprived of any water supply system and meet their needs with the help of water tankers.
Source: DW
