Iran prays for rain amid acute water shortage North of Tehran,the reservoir at Lar dam is nearly empty. (Hamidreza Dastjerdi / AFP/Getty Images) By RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, PATRICK J. MCDONNELL contact the reporter IranConservationNatural ResourcesWeatherEcosystems In Iran, lakes and rivers have been drying up and reservoirs are at historic lows Iran has been forced to cut the water supply in some areas because of shortages Tehran turns to powerful religious figures for spiritual and practical help with drought The ritual chants of Death to America! have not gone away, but at Friday services across Iran worshipers sought divine intervention in a matter more climatological than ideological. The faithful prayed for rain, or at least were urged to do so. For Gods sake, lets go to Gods door and ask his Almighty to send water, an animated Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi implored worshipers on the campus of Tehran University, the traditional venue of nationally televised Friday prayers. The water level in the reservoir at Amir Kabir dam, northwest of Tehran, has fallen drastically. (Hamidreza Dastjerdi / AFP/Getty Images) Occasionally breaking into sobs, the ayatollah exhorted members of the congregation to make their pleas both to the Creator and to Imam Hussein, a revered figure in Shiite Muslim tradition. The water shortages afflicting Iran, Sedighi suggested, could be a heavenly nudge aimed at getting sluggish believers to pay a little more attention to matters of the spirit. God sometimes sends ordeals to make his followers seek him out by praying and avoiding sin, he told worshipers, adding his own view that the divine reprimand, if thats what it is, stretched the limits of fair play. Iran has dedicated lots of martyrs to God and does not deserve a shortage of water, Sedighi asserted. Concern is mounting about dwindling water supplies across Iran, from the densely populated, smog-ridden capital and its parched suburbs to provincial towns and cities to far-flung corners of the nation, much of which is desert. Lakes and rivers have been drying up, reservoirs are at historic lows and water supplies have been cut in some areas. The annual snowmelt from the mountains is on the decline. lRelated NATION U.S. and China announce plans to curb greenhouse gases SEE ALL RELATED 8 On the streets here, people grumble about cuts in water service. Many buildings have tanks on the roofs to collect rainwater. Unfortunately, it hasnt rained in months. Bottled water is available, but many Iranians have little excess income for purchasing it. Most Iranians rely on tap water for both drinking and washing. On some days of the week, our tap water is cut for seven or eight hours, said Akbar Aziz, 40, a printing-house employee who lives in the capitals working-class Khorasan district. We are consuming as little as possible, said Aziz, a father with young daughters. We shower only two times a week. So we are not responsible for the water shortages. A ruined boat lies in the sand near the receding Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran. Urmia, one of the biggest saltwater lakes on Earth, has shrunk by more than 80%. (Ebrahim Noroozi / Associated Press) Experts cite a range of factors: a prolonged drought, climate change and outdated agricultural and household practices that tend to squander the precious resource. Iran regularly ranks near the bottom in global surveys of how nations manage water resources, officials say. The summer was a sweltering one in the capital, a trend that has continued deep into September and the early fall. The water problem is not likely to go away anytime soon. In the short term there is really no solution, professor B. Alijani, a lecturer on climate change and geography, said in an interview. But Iranians need to learn to economize water and avoid wasting it both at home and in the fields. cComments Many Christians in our country are praying for rain too. And then ISIS, Christian and Jewish soldiers pray to their respective gods (or maybe the same god) for success before they go on missions to kill each other. I dont think articles about people praying for divine intervention in... RES IPSA LOQUITER AT 7:30 PM SEPTEMBER 27, 2014 ADD A COMMENTSEE ALL COMMENTS 8 He noted, for instance, that farmers using irrigation maintain water-gorging orchards of apple and cherry trees in arid areas such as near Lake Urmia, a once-grand body of saltwater in northwest Iran that is now dying, its shoreline receding annually. Aquifers that feed the lake are running dry. Why on earth are we cultivating apples and cherries near the Urmia salt lake? Alijani asked. In a dispatch this month, the semiofficial Fars News Agency quoted a grim assessment from Eshaq Jahangiri, Irans first vice president, after he completed a tour of water treatment facilities and reservoirs in the capital. He and others have embarked on a campaign to raise awareness. Tehrans dams have water for only a few more days, and this means that people must take serious measures, the vice president said. Those who use water beyond normal amounts are hurting those who abide by appropriate levels of consumption.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 06:29:30 +0000
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