Shafaq News- Kirkuk
Water supplies have resumed in Kakai villages in Kirkuk,northern Iraq, after nearly two years of disruption, the head of the KirkukProvincial Council's Services Committee told Shafaq News on Friday.
Ahmed Kirkuki said that the committee treated the issue “as atop priority” after receiving complaints from residents, launching a series ofmeetings with relevant authorities to find a permanent solution and restorewater supply lines.
“Many residents had been forced to rely on water tankers andalternative sources to meet their daily needs, placing a significant financialand living burden on families.”
According to Kirkuki, restoring water service marks thefirst step in a broader plan to improve basic services in rural areas,particularly villages that have experienced declining access to water,electricity, and road infrastructure in recent years.
Earlier this week, officials warned that drinking watershortages were threatening 95 villages and more than 32,000 residents, disruptingagriculture and livestock farming and leaving thousands of residents withoutreliable drinking water.
The Kakais are a Kurdish religious minority, estimated between110,000 and 200,000 people, concentrated in Kirkuk, Diyala, Erbil,Al-Sulaymaniyah, and parts of Nineveh, according to the Minority Rights Group.
: Kept in Silence: The untold story of Iraq’s Kakai faith