Residents of a town in Kirkuk which has no swimming pool are obliged to swim in the irrigation project of the town in the afternoons of the blazing summer.
The irrigation project for Daquq farms, 6 km east of downtown, is crowded as youngsters find it the only resort for cooling as national power is on few hours a day while temperature soars up to 50 Celsius degrees.
"The temperature is too high and national power in our village is not on per our needs, only six hours a day, so once the power is off we go to Daquq irrigation project for cooling," said Ghambar Zangana, a young resident of Yangija village.
As no private diesel generators are installed in the villages alike towns and cities, "the heat forces us to go to the project."
Once the power is off we go to Daquq irrigation project for cooling
In Mid June, the residents of Daquq district south of Kirkuk were rushing to get a cube of ice as blazing summer made their lives unbearable amid outages of power.
Over 97,000 people of Daquq, 44 km southwest of Kirkuk, rely on one factory to produce ice as they can't depend on refrigerators and freezer due to the few hours of power they get every day.
The war against ISIS in the disputed territories left the war-ravaged region miss the basic public services of water and power supply, healthcare and education.
Kirkuk, located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, is home to 1.2 million Kurds, Arab, Turkmens and other ethnic and religious minorities and the center of the disputed territories where Iraqi security forces have taken control in October 2017 following the declaration of defeat of ISIS by Iraqi government.
Following the military defeat of ISIS, discord over security arrangements, public services, and the lack of a unified administration in the disputed territories, have plagued victims and survivors.
The disputed territories extend from Khanaqin in the east on the border with Iran to the oil rich city of Kirkuk heading to the west of Mosul in Shingal, home to Ezidi ethno-religious minority, on the border with Syria.
Kirkuk, August 2021- A number of Daquq youngsters turned swimming in the town irrigation project. Mohammed Almass
Daquq irrigation project irrigates agricultural lands of the district, only 2km far from the village of Yangija.
Naji Jadir, one of the young residents of Daquq, said there is no swimming pool in Daquq "though we asked for one but it was useless so we are obliged swim in this place."
The place is not suitable for swimming as its narrow and not clean "but it's fine for cooling," Jadir said.
Local authorities have approved building a swimming pool in the district by an investor.
Jasim Robitan, head of Daquq youth group under Kirkuk sport and youth directorate, said "after tens of times, building a swimming pool was approved. Half of the project has been implemented and it's supposed to open its doors soon."
"Once the power is off, my two kids shout we are burnt so let's go to swimming for few hours," said Hemin Shukur, a Daquq resident."
The town of Daquq is one of the fertile parts of Kirkuk where hundreds of donums are allocated for wheat, barley, and seasonal fruits.
