![\"13920713091633131295633\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/07\/13920713091633131295633.jpg\" "\\"13920713091633131295633\\"")
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NCRI – Lake Urmia in northwest Iran is on the verge of downright drying, according to the director general of crisis management bureau in West Azerbaijan Province.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Lake Urmia is not revived, the lives of more than 14 million people will be at risk, endangered by various diseases,\u201d said Amir Abbas Jafari on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cLake Urmia\u2019s drought is not only linked to the governments but also is related to changing environment conditions, famines, increasing water consumption, the humane factor and decreasing rains,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year we must decrease an average 8% of agricultural water usage in a five-year plan, and decrease water usage by 40%,\u201d Abbasi continued.<\/p>\n
On July 5th an Iranian MP by the name of Hazratpour representing the city of Urmia made further remarks about this lake in an interview with semi-official media outlets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you see in the numbers about Lake Urmia is different from the residents of that region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On July 14th, despite a heavy security atmosphere, a group of people and environment activists of Urmia formed a human chain in an effort to demand protection for the lake.<\/p>\n
At first security forces and the anti-riot guard prevented the activists from forming a human chain, dispersing the crowd. The people resisted, however, and formed their chain in protest.<\/p>\n
The chants heard at this gathering were:<\/p>\n
Lake Urmia is dying<\/p>\n
The government has ordered its killing<\/p>\n
Lake Urmia is drying up<\/p>\n
Azerbaijan will lose deeply if it fails to rise<\/p>\n
Natives consider mullahs\u2019 regime as main element behind Lake Urmia\u2019s drying<\/strong><\/p>\n Lake Urmia, with a surface area of over 3% of Iran, was in the past filled with the waters of 60 seasonal and permanent rivers. This lake has been drying since the early 2000s due to the mullahs\u2019 policies, and is now on the verge of complete drying.<\/p>\n Satellite images in 2015 show 88% of this lake has already been lost.<\/p>\n Studies by global researchers show drought has only lead to a 5% decrease in rains near this lake, while dam construction and digging deep wells by groups affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards\u2019 Khatam al-Anbia Company, parallel to constructing a 15-kilometer highway on the lake have brought it on the verge of total drying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NCRI – Lake Urmia in northwest Iran is on the verge of downright drying, according to the director general of crisis management bureau in West Azerbaijan Province. “If Lake Urmia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-23248","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-society","7":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n