Tehran has closed the city’s public toilets, under governmental measures introduced due to an acute water crisis nationwide that is worsening by the day, the Didban Iran and Shargh news outlets reported.
Didban Iran slammed the government for denying residents “a basic need” by discontinuing the service.
The Tehran city administration has not commented on the reports, but witnesses confirm that many public toilets, including those at metro stations, are already closed. There are about 20,000 public toilets in the greater Tehran area, according to estimates.
The energy and water crisis has become the main concern for Iranians. Water has been shut off for up to 48 hours in several districts of Tehran and at least 50 other cities. Power outages lasting hours on end make air conditioning unusable even as temperatures soar to between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius.
It is barely possible to live in such conditions, many of the capital’s 15 million inhabitants have said in social media posts.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government has urged people to use less water but otherwise appears helpless.
Other measures under consideration including a reduction of the working week from five to four days or even order a one-week forced closure of the capital to save electricity and water.
But fears about the economic impact of the plans mean they have not yet been introduced.
Pezeshkian called the situation as a “natural disaster” that could worsen in the coming weeks, as reservoirs are nearly empty. He has mulled relocating the capital to prevent possible chaos.