after the end of the “thirst riots”, certain populations remain under threat of a shortage of drinking water

The Algerian government has managed to put out the “thirst riots”, but residents of the town of Tiaret, southwest of Algiers, continue to face extreme heat.

Emergency measures have been taken by the Algerian government to supply the populations of the Tiaret region, but nothing says that they will be sufficient, because it is possible that it will again be confronted with “thirst riots”. These are violent demonstrations to denounce the inertia of the public authorities, while the inhabitants of Tiaret had to face, for several weeks, a shortage of drinking water.

The images of children leaning under a tanker truck, hoping that a drop of water would come out of the tap, and the anger of the population, ended up putting the authorities in Algiers on the spot. President Tebboune himself intervened by setting the date of Eid-el-Kebir, June 16, 2024, to supply the inhabitants of Tiaret.

The Minister of Hydraulics, Taha Derbal, even came to apologize, well aware that the region was on the brink of a health disaster. “It is impossible for citizens to live in such conditions. God willing, we will be able to supply residents with 10,000 cubic meters of water, in addition to the wells to which Algerian services are connected for distribution, he described. Currently, three wells are operational, but I’m not sure that’s enough to calm the discussions. However, we need calm to resolve the problems and silence the critics.”

On the eve of Eid-el-Kebir, barricades were still set up in the suburbs of Tiaret and the situation was still tense. Today we can speak of a return to calm, but it remains very precarious and the Algerian government is faced with a deeper problem.

Even if the arrival of tankers and connections to drilled wells, in just 48 hours, demonstrated the efficiency of the authorities, it all seems more like a bandage on a wooden leg. Around Tiaret, the three supply dams only have 20% of their reserves left and for years, drought has prevented groundwater from recharging due to extreme heat.