Electricity and water supplies dwindle due to sabotage and looting

The United Nations says electricity and water supplies to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, have fallen by 40 percent over past week due to sabotage and looting. Veronique Taveau, the spokeswoman for the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, said the task of restoring power and water in the city was not only an enormous one but also of serious concern now that temperatures were rising towards 50 C. "The civilians are facing shortages which makes their lives more and more difficult," she told a news conference in Baghdad, adding that workers trying to repair the lines were finding that their tools were being stolen and were afraid of going to work. "Reduction of water and electricity has increased the level of frustration of the population," she said. Iraqi civilians who can afford it have bought generators, but most are struggling to cope with extended periods without power - and without any warning as to when it will be cut. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working with the Coalition Provisional Authority to restore power. One of the main problems has been looters knocking down the electric pylons between Bayji power plant in northern Iraq and Baghdad to steal cables, which can be melted down and sold. Baghdad, which needs 1,700MW of electricity, is currently receiving just 750MW. The power failures have disrupted water supplies and led to sewage contamination of water. UNDP and the UN Children's Fund have been supplying fuel to sewage pumping stations and are working to repair and rehabilitate them.