Iran’s Topmost Water Supply System Acknowledged by World Bank
By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
Water is the elixir of life. Without water neither mankind nor animals, including birds, will survive.
What scientists are saying today that life originated in water had been already stated a millennium-and-a-half years ago by the Holy Qur’an:
“We made every living thing out of water? Will they (the unbelievers) not then have faith? (21:30)
The Heavenly Scripture also says:
“Allah created every animal from water; among them are some that creep upon their bellies; and among them are some that walk on two feet; and among them are some that walk on four.” (24:45)
Some 71 percent of our Planet’s surface is covered by water which abounds with a variety of marine life but is unsuitable for drinking (as well as agriculture) for human beings and the majority of animals because of its salinity.
Hence the Almighty Creator has decreed rainfall to ensure abundant supply of fresh or sweet water that falls on the earth through the cycle of precipitation to make vegetation grow, rivers flow, and lakes brim, while the rest seeps into the ground where it is preserved for the benefit of mankind in the form of springs that gush out or is channeled through “Qanats” (underground aqueducts) and wells.
“It is Allah who sends the winds; then they raise a cloud, then He spreads it as He wishes in the sky, and forms it into fragments, whereat you see the rain issuing from its midst...” (30:48)
The gifts of God are thus fully evident, and it is the duty of the authorities, whether in the parched lands or in areas exposed to constant floods, to properly harness water sources for the purpose of drinking and for irrigation.
Thanks to the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has spared no efforts to make potable water available even in the remote parts of the country.
This 44-year long “water jihad” has today earned accolades from even quarters which because of American hostility and political pressures, have tried to ignore the spectacular developments of the Islamic Republic.
Truth cannot be suppressed for long, and the World Bank has grudgingly announced in its recent report that Iran ranks first in terms of access to drinking water in urban and rural areas across the globe and among countries in the West Asia region.
It admitted that 99.83% of Iranian people in urban areas and 82% in rural areas have access to drinking water, while these figures stood at 85.7 and 59.6 percent in the world and 83.2 and 69.5 percent in West Asian countries.
This achievement in the face of the most severe sanctions of archenemy, the US, is due to the ingenuity of the pious and patriotic Iranian experts who have mastered the technology to build dams, drill canals, lay locally manufactured highly durable pipelines, set up treatment plants for sewage, and of course, hydro-electric projects to guarantee power supply throughout the country.
Without the least doubt, the water supply in Iran is higher than the global average, but the Islamic Republic has not stopped its innovative work in this vital field.
Just the other day, President Seyyed Ibrahim Raisi inaugurated the tallest Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) dam in West Asia in Kohgiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad Province in southwest Iran. The Chamshir Dam is 151 meters high and has a reservoir with a capacity of holding 2.3 billion cubic meters of water.
Currently, some 250 projects worth 5 billion dollars are underway in various parts of the country to help expand water supply infrastructures across the nation, for at least 19 million more people in several provinces.