Iran: numerous demonstrations against the lack of drinking water

In the Oroumieh region, the drilling of hundreds of deep wells ended up almost completely drying up Lake Oroumieh, the largest salt lake in the country (file photo).

AP - Ebrahim Noroozi

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Demonstrations against the shortage of drinking water have multiplied in several cities in western Iran in recent days due to an unprecedented drought hitting the country.

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With our correspondent in Tehran,

It all started on August 16 in the city of Shahrekord.

After several days of drinking water shortages, residents took to the streets to protest.

“

,” shouted the demonstrators.

Eventually, the authorities managed to install a pipeline to bring water to the city.

But the situation is even more serious in the city of Hamedan, the historic capital of Iran, which has been experiencing protests against

for several days .

City of more than 500,000 inhabitants, Hamedan and its region are a center of agricultural production.

The main dam in the region is totally dry.

Dried up groundwater

The drilling of hundreds of illegal deep wells in the region and the intensive use of water have ended up drying up the water tables.

The local authorities have decided to oblige farmers to provide 25% of the water from their wells in order to be able to provide drinking water for the city.

In the region of Oroumieh, a little further north of the country, it is the same situation.

Here again, the drilling of hundreds of deep wells ended up almost completely drying up Lake Oroumieh, the largest salt lake in the country.

For several years, floods and drought have pushed part of the population of the southern regions of Iran, particularly Sistan Balochistan, to immigrate to the north.

The current drought in the country is expected to further aggravate the situation.

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