#Ahwazna – Al_ Ahwaz: Environmental crisis looms as Karkhe River dries up

"Ahwazna"

Ahwazi informed sources reported that Karkhe River, the second largest River after Karoon, completely dried up as it will cost Ahwazi Arabs a lot of losses in agriculture and livestock sectors. The complete dryness of Karkhe River during last week more possibly is going to trigger a significant environmental, economic and social disaster for the Ahwazi Arab residents of Howezeh region who inhabited around the River. The sources added: this drought is happened for the second time within the past two months where it has already dried up for a period of 12 days. And the persistence of this situation is greatly enhancing the premise of environmental, economic and social disaster. The sudden drought of Karkheh River has caused the deaths of thousands of fish, and more seriously is the cutting of irrigation water   for 40 thousand hectares of agricultural lands around the River. In the light of these challenges, many of Arab farmers of Howezeh fear of the continuation of this situation, which will reflect negatively on their agricultural production, as well as huge financial losses because of it. Many of Ahwazi people view the gravity of the crisis will ultimately   lead to destruction of Ahwazi local economy which entirely dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry in most parts of Ahwaz. The outcome would be the migration of inhabitants of these areas and abandonment of their lands that later makes it easier for the Iranian Occupation state to grab the lands to settle Persian settlers there. In this case, Ahwazi environmentalists believe the only solution to solve the water shortage problems, is to removing the dams that have been built in recent years and led to environmental destruction. The vegetation of Ahwazi lands has been lost, and the soil reduced to dust and eroded as a consequence of dryness of Rivers creating dust bowls on a vast scale not seen before. This is the policy of the Iranian occupying government in dehydrating the lands, human and animal in Ahwaz.