Gholam-Hossein Mozaffari, the governor-general of Iran’s Razavi Khorasan province, has warned of a worsening water crisis in Mashhad, saying the city’s groundwater reserves have been depleted and that the situation has moved beyond a crisis to a “catastrophic” stage.
Speaking on Saturday, 31 Asad, Mozaffari said that nearly one million Afghan migrants live in Mashhad and suggested that the Taliban could help alleviate the city’s water shortage by providing water for this population.
The governor-general identified excessive groundwater extraction and the sharp decline in underground water reserves across the province as major factors behind the worsening water shortage in Mashhad, warning of the consequences if the situation continues.
He also referred to the construction of the Salma Dam in Afghanistan, saying that with a capacity of more than 380 million cubic metres, the dam has significant potential for water supply and could be considered within the framework of bilateral cooperation.
Mozaffari expressed hope that Taliban authorities would, as part of their engagement with Iran, take steps to provide at least some of the water needed by Afghans living in Mashhad. Such an initiative, he said, could help ease pressure on the city’s water resources.
The Salma Dam is located in western Afghanistan within the Hari Rud–Murghab river basin and is considered one of the country’s major water infrastructure projects. The filling of its main reservoir began in 2015, and the project became operational in 2016.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
