The government and the Ankara Municipality are trading accusations over responsibility for water cuts in the capital after one of the driest years on record.
After President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused municipality officials of incompetence for not providing water to Ankara, the municipality hit back by pointing to the role of central government in ensuring fresh water supplies.
Ankara was experiencing its driest year in 50 years, the municipality said, adding that its water utility ASKİ has no authority to secure new water sources independently. Finding and delivering new supplies is legally the responsibility of the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ), it said. The municipality said repeated requests for new allocations had not moved forward as fast as needed. It also said the DSİ had quietly removed articles from its website that claimed there would be no water problems in the short term.
“While all our resources are being mobilized, no one should try to undermine our municipality and ASKI's fight against drought with empty words,” it said.
On Jan. 8, the DSİ said that responsibility for supplying drinking water from source to end users rests with Ankara Municipality and ASKİ, citing the Metropolitan Municipality Law.
