Ministry of Energy: Eight million rural residents are facing water stress
Meysam Jafarzadeh, head of the Ministry of Energy’s Jihad Center for Water Supply, announced that more than eight million rural residents are struggling with water stress in thousands of villages in Iran. He said that the Raisi government now intends to resolve the “sacred issue of water supply” with a “jihadi spirit.”
Meysam Jafarzadeh, head of the Ministry of Energy's Water Supply Jihad Center, announced the start of water supply operations to 7,138 villages on Sunday, February 7, at a ceremony to launch the Ministry of Energy's projects, which was held in the presence of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
He claimed, "The 13th government will not act like previous governments and will urgently resolve the water crisis in thousands of villages."
Jafarzadeh emphasized that this urgent program will be implemented within 30 months and with a credit estimate of 19 trillion tomans through a contract with the Imam Hassan headquarters.
The official said that currently, more than eight million people in Iran's rural population, in a total of 28,000 villages, are facing water stress.
The head of the Ministry of Energy's Jihad Center for Water Supply did not explain why the water crisis facing millions of Iranians in rural areas was not resolved under previous governments of the Islamic Republic. However, he spoke of a "special mission" and "jihadi spirit" in the "sacred cause of water supply" and promised that the drinking water and sanitation problems of millions of rural people "will be resolved."
The head of the Ministry of Energy's Jihad Water Supply Center also announced the establishment of the "Jihad Water Supply Council" consisting of "experts and specialists in the water sector, water supply philanthropists, popular and aid organizations in the country, and jihadist groups."
Thousands of villages, according to officials, lack piped water, and the water needed by the people is transported to these villages by water tankers.
The problem of water and drought in Iran has a history of several decades. This problem has become alarming in the past few years, and with the coming to power of new presidents in different terms, the water shortage crisis has only become the first headline in the country's news.
In November of this year, protesters took to the streets in the cities of Isfahan and Shahrekord against the government’s water supply policies. For several days, Isfahan witnessed continuous and widespread demonstrations by farmers and other social groups against the drying up of the Zayandeh River. These protests turned violent and were suppressed by the intervention of security forces.
Source: DW
