No end is in sight to the lingering water crisis in Taif. The crisis brings back to memory a similar situation when the city was gripped by an acute water crisis some 15 years ago. Long queues of people waiting for water tankers is a normal sight with the onset of summer season. This year is no exception and the waiting time for a water tanker this year has stretched to four days. The management of water supply stations is adopting strict measures signifying that the crisis is at its peak this year. Citizens are required to produce their IDs to receive a token while others are being forced to appear in person at the location to ensure receiving their quotas. Residents are particularly wary as the Water Department had recently assured that more water will be pumped into the city. Several residents have accused the Water Department of making up a crisis to serve the purpose of its employees, most of whom own water tankers. They called for stringent measures to control the crisis and accused officials of favoritism as water supply is never cut off in exclusive neighborhoods. The Water Department denied all the charges and asserted that it does not practice favoritsm. An unidentified source at the Department ascribed the crisis to water quantity being slashed from 200,000 cubic meters to 100,000 cubic meters. A number of businessmen expressed concern that the crisis may negatively affect the tourist season and called on the Water Ministry to accelerate award of water privatization contracts and promote private investments in the city. – Okaz __
