Cuba’s fuel crisis leaves nearly 3 mn people facing daily water shortages

Nearly 3 million (30 lakh) Cubans experience water shortages every day because of a severe oil shortage that government officials blame on a US energy blockade, authorities said late on Wednesday during a roundtable discussion regarding the impact of the ongoing blockade. The island’s water system is operating with only 37 per cent of the required fuel as Cuba faces its worse energy crisis. The water system is one of the sectors most affected because it is one of the country’s largest energy consumers, said Antonio Rodriguez, president of the state-run National Institute of Water Resources. Details of the forum focussed on the intermittent water supply affecting an overall population of nearly 10 million (one crore) people were published on Thursday by the official website Cubadebate. Rodriguez said that not only does water pumping consume electricity, but all of the agency’s essential activities require fuel, from unclogging pipes and cleaning septic tanks to repairing leaks. …