Amir Jafari-Qoli , representative of the Supreme Leader of the clerical regime at the University of Sharh -e-Kurd and member of the Committee for the Protection of Waters in the province of Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari , warned : “With the construction of the Behesht -Abad tunnel, four cities ( Ardel , Kiar Boroudjen , Sharh -e-Kurd ) will be transformed into desert.”
He added : “Currently, in the province of Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari , more than 200 villages lack water and are supplied by tankers , despite the fact that the water resources of this province is well above the national average .”
Amir Jafari-Qoli added: ” The people of the province of Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari think that even if there is a surplus of water in some parts of the province, the surplus should be used in other parts of the province where water is scarce . The people demand the destruction of the tunnel for moving river water to the outside of the province.”
The residents in the province have protested construction of a tunnel that would divert the water from the province to other regions.