Protest Vigil Demands Protection for A Water Field Supplying Thousands of Residents in Hadramawt
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Dozens of residents from the “Al-Ghurf” and “Masila Al Sheikh” areas in Tarim District of Hadramawt Governorate (eastern Yemen) organized a protest vigil today in front of the city’s judicial complex, demanding the protection of the water field and service facilities associated with the area’s water project from encroachments and environmental hazards.
In a statement issued during the vigil, the protesters called on the local authority, judicial, oversight, and environmental entities to intervene urgently to save this vital facility, which serves thousands of citizens, and to prevent its deterioration due to issues and risks that have begun to threaten its sustainability.
The residents explained that the “Al-Ghurf” water project and its affiliated service projects were established through community and local efforts and solidarity over many years, rather than through official efforts, making it one of the most prominent service projects in the region.
The statement warned of a series of issues threatening the safety of the water field, most notably: urban and unplanned expansion within the geographical boundaries of the water field, the closure of the road leading to the main water tank, and serious environmental damage resulting from sewage leakage into the field’s boundaries, which threatens to contaminate freshwater sources.
The statement emphasized that the residents’ position is not based on rejecting services or diminishing anyone’s rights, but rather relies on a fixed legal principle: “that protecting the public interest and preventing harm must precede any other measure, especially when it concerns a facility serving thousands of citizens.”
The protesters demanded that the local authority in Hadramawt Governorate and Tarim District assume their legal and moral responsibilities in protecting the water field and preventing any encroachments affecting public facilities. They also called on the judicial authorities to “look with the eye of justice at the scale of the existing damage and prioritize the public interest.”
Additionally, the residents appealed to environmental and oversight bodies to swiftly send field inspection committees to assess the damage and take the necessary measures to protect the field, calling on social figures and dignitaries to line up to protect the community projects that were established to serve the public.
At the conclusion of their vigil, the protesters affirmed that their movement falls within a peaceful and civilized framework guaranteed by law, away from escalation, while maintaining their full commitment to respecting state institutions, the judiciary, and the law, stressing that the primary goal is to preserve the region’s only lifeline.
