Water Crisis in Damash; Rudbar Governorate Claims Reporting 'Exploits Opponents'

Following the news of water shortages in Damash village and the residents' decision to cut off water to the factory, the Rudbar governorate has deemed the reporting on this matter as 'exploiting opponents' and has denied the issues raised. In response to this 'denial', ILNA news agency has accused the governorate of 'lying'. ILNA reported that the problems caused by the mineral water factory for the village of Damash have led to complaints from the villagers against the factory and the Regional Water Organization. According to the news agency citing an informed source, a meeting was held a few days ago at the governorate's office at the suggestion of the district governor, but 'no issues were resolved for them [the complainants], and they were insulted and threatened by the governor.' One attendee at the meeting told ILNA that 'the governor's remarks had nothing to do with the water issue and were more about why you are expressing problems that could feed the media of opponents.' The Rudbar governorate sent a response to ILNA denying the events that took place during the meeting and the people's protest gathering, while the news agency, relying on its 'documents and evidence', accused the governorate of 'lying' and stated that 'it is regrettable that the governorate wants to shirk its responsibilities by twisting the truth.' Last week, news was published that after repeated water outages in Damash village, known as a tourism hub in Gilan province, the villagers, emphasizing the 'illegal' extraction of water by the factory, cut off the water supply to this factory and announced a protest gathering in front of the Rudbar governorate. According to ILNA, the negligence of the authorities has led to the Damash mineral water factory creating a water crisis without regard for the village's situation.