Water ceases pumping from Alouk Water Station an hour after it is restarted

Hasakah – North-Press Agency
Hoshink Hasan

Armed opposition groups affiliated with Turkey returned to stop the pumping of water to the areas of Hasakah and Tal Tamr from Alouk Water Station only an hour after it was restarted.

Sozdar Ahmed, the co-chair of the Water Directorate of the Autonomous Administration, told North-Press that the pumping lasted for about an hour before it was stopped again.

She added: "The residents of Hasakeh and Tal Tamr did not get any water because of the short duration."

About the reason for the stoppage, Ahmed said: "The armed opposition groups are demanding 30 megawatts of electricity for the areas they control in exchange for pumping water from Alouk Water Station."

Last Saturday, Turkey cut off water from Alouk Station in the Sere Kaniye countryside, which supplies water to the city of Hasakah and the towns of Tal Tamr, al-Hawl, Abu Rasin, al-Shaddadi and their villages, without revealing the reasons, according to the Water Directorate in Hasakah.

On Monday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) issued a statement to the public about Turkey's cutting off water from Alouk Station, saying that the cut-off deprives half a million people of drinking water and puts people at risk of contracting coronavirus in light of the efforts aimed at combating it.

She added: "The interruption of water supplies during the current efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus exposes children and families to an unacceptable risk; hand washing with soap is extremely important for combating COVID-19."

This is the second time during this month that Turkey has cut off water from Alouk Water Station, which supplies nearly a million people with drinking water in the Hasakah region in the northeast of the country.