Protest against water issue blocks road in Khartoum

Demonstrations against the four-day interruption of the water supply to residences in El Goz district in Khartoum continued on Tuesday. Protesters blocked traffic. People in Kassala state also complained about the empty water pipes.

“Local authorities do not care about the suffering of the residents by the non-operation of the water supply,” a demonstrator from El Goz (Rumaila) told Radio Dabanga. 
Riot police arrives at the scene of the protest on 12 July (RD)

Protesters continued the demonstration that started on Monday by burning tires on the roads to interrupt traffic, in an attempt to draw the attention of local authorities. The blockade resulted in chaos as vehicles ended up in a traffic jam and had to change their routes.

Police interfered but protesters initially refused to move from the roads. “We will continue our protest until we receive a response,” the demonstrator said.

Kassala

Residents in Aroma in eastern Sudan also complained about the constant interruption of water supply in most parts of the town, which has continued for more than two months in some areas.

As a result the price of a barrel of water from water tankers now costs SDG 25 ($4.10).

“The drinking water management obliges the residents to pay their water bills, despite the continuous interruption,” an affected resident said. “They received numerous complaints from us, that did not find any response from the officials.”

Dozens of people of El Shabiya district in Kassala protested in front of the government secretariat building against the interruption of water services without a solution from the responsible authorities in sight. The demonstrators demanded from authorities to speed-up solving the problem, and pointed to the rise of prices of water from tankers and carts.