Rouhani Calls for Action on Water Scarcity

President Hassan Rouhani has sounded the alarm on the worsening water crisis saying his administration invested  $11.5 billion in the water sector after he took office in 2013. 
In a meeting with officials at the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday Rouhani said overconsumption and waste  has created the present dilemma as groundwater resources continue to shrink rapidly. 
"If in the past one would dig 30 meters to find water, now he must go down 300 meters," Rouhani said,  the presidential website reported. 
Unprecedented declines in rainfall over decades have led to droughts across the country and conditions have worsened due to grossly inefficient farming methods, digging illegal wells and water-intensive crops.