Second Gathering in Borazjan; Hundreds Protest Water Outages and Rationing

Hundreds of people in the city of Borazjan, in Bushehr province, protested against "water outages and rationing" in their second gathering. According to the IRNA news agency, the protesters on Sunday night, July 8, demanded practical actions from officials to resolve the water shortage issue. The news agency reported the number of protesters in Borazjan to be 350 and added that their gathering lasted about four hours. IRNA did not mention the protesters' slogans, but some videos circulating on social media show them chanting: "Death to the dictator" and "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid - we are all together." The report noted that "no specific security issues arose, but traffic was disrupted for hours on the streets leading to the 17th of Shahrivar and Shahid Chamran squares." Some residents of Borazjan, the center of Dashtestan County, also gathered on Saturday night, July 7, in protest against the water shortage and poor distribution in the city. The local website "Fekr-e-Shahr" reported that "days of water scarcity" on Saturday night brought "thousands of people" to the streets of Borazjan. This website reported a heavy police presence during the Saturday night gathering and noted that some local officials, including the Friday prayer leader of Borazjan and local government officials, came to the gathering site, where they faced protests from the people and were forced to leave. Earlier, some residents of the city of Vahdatieh had blocked the main road connecting Bushehr and Shiraz for several hours in early July in protest against the water shortage. The gatherings in Borazjan followed recent street protests in Khorramshahr and Abadan against salty water and outages. Following the protests in these two cities, 10 people were arrested, and 25 others were identified on charges such as "inciting people to riot and exploiting public demands." Reports indicate that several people were also injured in the Khorramshahr protests. The reasons for the water shortage in Borazjan and other cities in Dashtestan were highlighted by IRNA, which noted that "water shortages and poor distribution" have disrupted the daily lives of Borazjan residents since Farvardin (March 21). According to the report, Javad Laghmanzadeh, the political, security, and social deputy of the Dashtestan governorate, stated that since the beginning of June, the inflow of water from the Bouchekan water treatment plant in Kazeroon, Fars province, has decreased by 30,000 cubic meters, resulting in water distribution issues in Dashtestan, especially in the cities of Borazjan, Vahdatieh, Ab-Pakhsh, and Shabankareh. Mehrdad Sotoodeh, the deputy for urban development of the Bushehr governorate, also told IRNA that due to the water crisis in Dashtestan, efforts are being made to temporarily resolve this issue through the Kowsar water supply line. He added that in addition, the construction of 10 wells for the city of Borazjan is on the agenda, with drilling for four wells in the final stages and drilling for six more wells to begin next week. This government official also referred to a memorandum of understanding between the provinces of Fars and Bushehr for the daily transfer of 82,000 cubic meters of water from Kazeroon to Bushehr province, adding that according to this memorandum, Bushehr province pays 140 million rials per hectare to Kazeroon farmers under the "non-cultivation plan" to prevent them from planting crops and ensure the water needs of the province are met. Nevertheless, he accused some farmers of illegally extracting water by creating pumps around the Shapur River in Kazeroon, stating that some landowners without water rights are illegally extracting water. On the other hand, Abdolkarim Garavand, the governor of Bushehr, stated on Tuesday, July 9, at a crisis management meeting in the province that permits for several desalination projects have been issued, and some are underway, but he noted that due to the nature of these projects, their implementation is time-consuming and requires "patience" from the people and "management of consumption" for their completion. He identified one of the reasons for the water problem in Dashtestan County as the "decrease in rainfall and river flow, including the Shapur," which has affected the transfer of water from Kazeroon to Bushehr province. Previously, Mohammad Baqer Saadat, a member of parliament from Dashtestan, accused local officials of "delaying" in addressing the water supply issues for citizens, stating, "People have the right to be angry and even curse." According to him, the main problem of water shortage in Dashtestan is the existence of more than "30 powerful water pumps" along the river from Kazeroon to Borazjan, which some "landowners" have installed under the cover of darkness to illegally use the water. Mr. Saadat accused the Kazeroon governor of not getting involved despite an order to remove these pumps because he is "local to the Kazeroon area." As the Fekr-e-Shahr website reported, some neighborhoods in Borazjan have not seen "a drop of water in their pipes for over 10 days... they haven't bathed for days, haven't washed dishes, and haven't cooked food... The main trouble is for those with small children and... the heat and power outages are overwhelming." The water crisis in Iran, given the rising temperatures during the summer days, has seriously affected many regions of the country, leading to power outages and water distribution by tankers in some areas. Meanwhile, a member of parliament from Khuzestan province announced on Sunday that cities in this province, such as Izeh and Baghmalek, are facing a much worse water shortage situation than Khorramshahr and Abadan. According to the House of the Nation news agency, affiliated with the parliament, Hedayatollah Khademi, a member of parliament from Izeh and Baghmalek, urged the government to quickly devise a plan to supply water for 400,000 residents in northeastern Khuzestan. According to Eisa Kalantari, head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, over 70% of the country's population is currently facing "water scarcity," and the per capita water availability this year has surpassed critical conditions. Previously, Reza Ardakanian, Iran's Minister of Energy, had declared the year 1397 (2018) as the most challenging year for water supply in the country in the last half-century and warned that 334 cities with a population of 35 million are currently facing water stress.