BEIRUT: Residents of an east Lebanon town cut off irrigation canals Sunday in protest of the pollution of the Bekaa Valley’s Qaraoun Lake, local media reported.
Residents of the lakeside town of Qaraoun in the Western Bekaa used mounds of dirt to cut off canals used to cultivate fields to protest the polluted lake, which has begun to emit a foul smell.
The protest was led by the town’s Sheikh Mounir Raqiyeh the report said.
No further details were given.
The Qaraoun Lake is an artificial reservoir formed by a dam on the Litani River, Lebanon’s longest river. It is used for hydropower generation, domestic water supply and as a source of irrigation.
Pollution in the Litani River came to the public eye recently after a number of dead fish were discovered in the Qaraoun Lake.
Tests conducted by the South Lebanon Water Authority last month found that 37 percent of the Litani River’s water was polluted, which stemmed from several sources, including garbage, sewage, and runoff from the nearby sand quarries.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk promised late July to halt all the licensed and unlicensed quarries near the Litani River until the damage they have caused is rectified. Afterwards, he added, the Energy and Water Ministry will clean the river by removing accumulated silt and residue.
Source & Link : The Daily Star
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