Hundreds of people protested water shortages in the central Iranian province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, chanting “Death to Raisi,” a reference to President Ebrahim Raisi.
According to videos published on social media on August 16, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari administrative building in the regional capital, Shahrekord, 10 days into a water shortage crisis so severe that the only source of daily water is through trucks.
Security forces have been seen among the protesters, though no reports of violence have been reported.
While much of Iran has been suffering through water shortages for years, the recent crisis in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari intensified when the Kohrang spring was removed from the drinking-water supply circuit.
Ahmadreza Mohammadi, head of water and sewerage for Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, announced that the spring was out of service due to the “turbidity of the Kohrang spring water” due to a recent flood.
On August 14, Etezad Moghimi, director general of the crisis management office at the Energy Ministry, promised that within a day all water treatment plants will be in operation and the water supply problem would be solved.
Residents of the province, however, have complained on social media that the situation has not improved despite the pledge.
Experts say climate change has amplified the droughts and floods plaguing Iran and that their intensity and frequency in turn threaten food security.
Dozens of protests have been held across Iran in recent months over deteriorating living conditions in the country, which has been hit hard by U.S. sanctions imposed over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Source » rferl