Warning About Population Increase in the Capital: Tehran Has No Water Left

Mahdi Chamran, the head of Tehran City Council, announced that the population of Tehran has increased to 14 million and warned about the depletion of the city's water reserves, stating, "Tehran has no water left." According to Young Journalists Club, Mr. Chamran added in a session on Tuesday, December 14, that with the increase in the city's population, "we no longer have water and cannot meet the needs of the citizens." He criticized the rise in the population of urban slum dwellers in Tehran, saying, "In the past, Islamshahr had a population of 800, and today it has increased to 800,000." Chamran added that "some surrounding cities of Tehran are managed with two police stations and one clinic because they receive most of their services from Tehran." He identified the issuance of construction permits in the city’s borders by the Parliament and the migration of rural residents to the capital as two significant factors contributing to Tehran's problems. Chamran also announced that "a committee will be held with the presence of parliamentary representatives to focus on the fundamental issues of the city instead of political matters." Tehran suffers from numerous challenges and problems, and Pirouz Hanachi, Deputy for Urban Planning and Architecture at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, has also stated that the large population in Tehran has created "various problems, including environmental issues." Ahmad Donyamali, another member of the Tehran City Council, warned about the population increase in the city, stating that "the population growth in Tehran and its surrounding areas does not follow any rules." Mr. Donyamali added that "the ratio of the population of the cities surrounding Tehran compared to the capital is dangerous, and currently, there are about 60 villages around Tehran that have turned into cities." He warned that "if this issue is not controlled, these cities will become provinces in the future" and may lead to the creation of two provinces in the southeast and southwest of Tehran. He mentioned that "the cities of Pakdasht, Qarchak, Varamin, Pishva, Robat Karim, Parand, and Ahmadabad Mostofi have populations over one million, which can claim they should become provinces." On December 5 of this year, Mohammad Haqqani, head of the Environment Committee of the Tehran City Council, reported on the soil pollution in Iran's capital and its infertility. Mr. Haqqani stated that "Tehran not only lacks clean air but is also deprived of fertile soil." Tehran, with over 13 million inhabitants, is considered one of the most polluted megacities in the world, and various governments have so far been unable to control and manage the human factors contributing to air pollution in Tehran and other megacities in Iran.