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Ankara mayor hopes holidays will ease drought

03 Aug 2007 08:16:08 GMT
Source: Reuters

ANKARA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - The mayor of Ankara has asked residents to take longer summer holidays to help ease a severe water shortage afflicting Turkey's capital, newspapers reported on Friday.

Authorities in Ankara, a city of four million, began imposing draconian water restrictions this week after water levels in dams feeding the city dropped to just four percent.

Residents will have two days of water, then two days without. Authorities say there is only enough water for two more months without such restrictions.

"I am planning to send municipality staff on a two-month holiday. If 60,000 people leave Ankara for a while, it would bring some relief," newspapers quoted mayor Melih Gokcek as saying.

"Is it a bad idea that people visit their parents?"

Workers would normally take 20-30 days holiday over the summer, when business tends to slow.

Turkey is suffering one of its driest years on record and newspapers have shown pictures of empty rivers and creeks which normally feed its towns and cities.

Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, has also seen water levels decline worryingly in recent months but Ankara, in the generally dry, sunbaked interior, is far worse affected after a largely snow-less winter.

Authorities in Ankara, Istanbul and other cities have urged Turks to cut back on water consumption until next spring's rains, but despite the new restrictions residents have continued using hose pipes to water their gardens and wash cars.

Gokcek, a member of Turkey's ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party, blamed global warming for the drought and rejected media criticism he had failed to take adequate measures to prepare the capital for the new water restrictions.

"Drought has suddenly hit the world. We never expected God to allow such a disaster... If God wills it, rain could start to fall immediately," he was quoted as saying.

CNN Turk television said worshippers at a mosque in Istanbul planned to pray for rain at Friday prayers.

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Last updated:Fri Aug 3 08:16:22 2007