Water is the source of life. This source, similar to virtually everything in Kirkuk, is intermingled with the conflicts and disputes between the different political parties.
The people of the city admit that the residents of the neighborhoods from which the lands are provided by the Kurdistan Democratic Party are affiliated with KDP and similarly, those living on the lands provided by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan are followers of PUK. The very similar drama also runs in the governmental establishments and facilities affecting the services in Kirkuk.
“Our neighborhood is called the KDP’s neighborhood as the lands were initially provided by the KDP.” These are words of 35-year-old Ali Rafiq, who is living in the Panja Ali 1 neighborhood.
Ali told Kirkuk Now “All the services including drinking water, sewage, and the paving of the streets are done for the Panja Ali 2 neighborhood where the lands were provided by the PUK, and because we are regarded as followers of the KDP, we have been told to go to the KDP for the services.”
Salam Muhammad is a 31-year-old resident of the Panja Ali 2 neighborhood who lamented about the disruptions of the services in their neighborhood saying that “The residents of the Panja Ali 1, the majority of which are followers of the KDP, are shooting the drinking water pipelines coming to our neighborhood which is leaving the people of more than five neighborhoods, including Panja Ali 2, without drinking water.”
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan are the two main political parties reigning in Iraqi Kurdistan. Despite a long history of conflicts, disputes, and even civil war between them, they have participated in the last three elections in Kurdistan and Iraq as a single alliance bloc but the conflicts and disputes have persisted as before. The KDP is the dominant force in Erbil and Duhok, and the PUK enjoys a similar dominance in Sulaymaniah and Kirkuk. The fact that the PUK is dominant in Kirkuk is rendered in the administration of the province.
The residents of the Panja Ali 1 neighborhood have criticized the Kirkuk administration by saying, “How is it possible for a government to be controlled by a political party and then not provide services for a locality of which its residents are not their followers?” The residents of Panja Ali 2 similarly slam the Kirkuk administration, saying “How can a government that is helpless in arresting those shooting the pipelines in the daytime be able to confront the terrorists in the province?
Drinking water going wasted from broken pipelines - Photo: Kirkuk Now
In both situations, the objections are facing the Kirkuk administration, that is more dominantly run by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and which has won the majority of the votes of the people of Kirkuk.
The director of the Kirkuk Water Department, Abdulqadir Muhammad told Kirkuk Now “We do not make any difference among the neighborhoods of Kirkuk, but generally these neighborhoods are illegal but despite that fact, we provide them with well water.”
“The Panja Ali 1 neighborhood is located in an elevated area, and it is difficult to get the water facilities to reach there. It is the third time that they have vandalized the pipelines, which is harming themselves and other neighborhoods,” Muhammad added.
“We cannot assign guards for the pipelines, but we ask the people of the neighborhoods to provide us with information of those vandalizing the services,” he added.
The shortage of the drinking water and other services coincides with the fact that according to a survey by the Kirkuk Water Resources, 82% of the people of Kirkuk overuse the drinking water supplies, while the department is planning to mount water meters in homes and buildings.
http://kirkuknow.com/english/index.php/ ... ver-water/
