June 30, 2005
Baghdad Mayor Decries Daily Misery
Iraq Capital Wracked By Violence, Shortages Two Years After Invasion
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An Iraqi boy walks past stagnant water in the Sadr City section of Baghdad, Iraq in this March 23, 2005 file photo. Baghdad's mayor decried the capital's crumbling infrastructure Thursday. (AP)
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The statement from Mayor Alaa Mahmoud al-Timimi was an indication of the daily misery that Baghdad's 6.45 million people still endure more than two years after the U.S.-led invasion. They are wracked not only by unrelenting bombings and kidnappings, but by serious shortages in water, electricity and fuel.
"It's useless for any official to stay in office without the means to accomplish his job," al-Timimi told reporters.
Al-Timimi is seeking $1.5 billion for Baghdad in 2005 but so far has received only $85 million, said his spokesman, Ameer Ali Hasson.
Efforts to expand Baghdad's water projects were set back earlier this month when insurgents sabotaged a pipeline near Baghdad. Now, some complain the water they do get smells bad, and Hasson acknowledged in some areas, the water gets mixed with sewage.
"The problem is escalating," said al-Timimi, a Shiite who took office in May 2004.
In other developments:
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