Sistan and Baluchestan in Crisis; Water and Electricity Outages and Long Lines for Chicken Amid Drought

Sistan and Baluchestan has been in the news for months due to protest Fridays. However, this province has other narratives; from poverty and unemployment to ongoing issues with bread and continuous water and electricity outages. In addition to these issues, Iranian media report long lines for chicken and gas and a decrease in the purchasing power of the people in this province. The ILNA news agency reported that problems such as drought, water scarcity, deprivation despite 'having suitable infrastructure,' and long lines for gas, water, gasoline, and bread are evident in this province. According to this news agency, long lines for chicken have also become part of the province's challenges, with people having to stand in line for hours in 50-degree heat, hoping to get one or two chickens. The official narrative from the food market shows that the price of fresh chicken has risen from 57,000 tomans per kilogram to about 84,000 tomans, and frozen chicken has become inaccessible to the public, with standing in long lines not guaranteeing a purchase. The news website 'Asr Hamoon' also provides another account from this province, stating that 'in recent days, we have witnessed repeated power outages in Zahedan and many parts of the city.' According to this media outlet, the lack of electricity has created more problems for citizens, with hospitals facing power issues, and frequent outages during patient treatment have endangered lives. The state news agency IRNA also reported on June 30 about the beginning of summer and issues such as water scarcity, pressure drops, and prolonged water outages in Sistan and Baluchestan. According to this news agency, Sistan and Baluchestan has been grappling with the consequences of climate change and chronic droughts and severe water shortages for over 22 years, having the lowest rainfall among the provinces in the country, which has led to numerous problems for the people. The gas supply situation in this province is also described as 'disastrous,' as stated by Moien-aldin Saidi, a member of parliament in this electoral district, there is not a single meter of gas pipeline in either cities or villages. He emphasized that gas has become a luxury commodity in this province, making access to it a 'dream' for many people, and we witness long lines of people waiting for gas cylinders. Last January, a member of the parliamentary board, during a visit to this province, announced that fuel supply in this province faces many challenges, and people must wait hours to refuel at stations. In recent days, we have also witnessed dust storms in parts of this province, sending over a thousand people to clinics. Despite all these ongoing problems in Sistan and Baluchestan, we see that protest Fridays continue with maximum public participation. Protest Fridays began when on October 8 of last year, worshippers who gathered after the sermons of Molavi Abdolhamid to protest against 'the assault of a police commander on a teenage girl' faced direct gunfire from security forces, resulting in many deaths, leading to weekly protests in several cities of Sistan and Baluchestan, including Zahedan, continuing after nine months. The increase in internal migration in Iran, mostly from city to city, is one of the consequences of climate problems, poverty, and unemployment. Kazem Kordvani, a sociologist, in an interview with VOA, cites a report from the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, identifying Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Kermanshah, and Hamadan among the top provinces for 'migration propensity,' attributing the main reason to the water crisis.