Turkey Rations Water As Cities Hit by Drought
Water cuts could be increased to four days, the Ankara water department director, Ihsan Fincan, said yesterday. The municipality was planning to send 16,000 of its employees on summer vacation to save on water in the city, he said.
The reservoirs of Istanbul, a city of more than 10 million, have sufficient water to last another three to four months, according to water authority estimates.
Istanbul has no plans to impose similar water cuts, its mayor, Kadir Topbas, said. The city was also trying to divert water from nearby rivers.
Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti or chief cleric of Istanbul, told the private news channel NTV yesterday that special prayers were being said across the city for rain. "In times of trouble, it is natural for people to seek Allah's help for problems that they cannot solve," he said.
Sales of large plastic water containers have surged in Ankara and elsewhere, with residents stockpiling water, Posta newspaper reported. Sales of bottled drinking water were also up.