The drought, heat wave and water shortage in Mexico are so severe that even the police blocked traffic yesterday in protest , AP reported, quoted by BTA.
In recent months, residents of some neighborhoods of the capital have regularly formed human chains to block boulevards with a demand to be provided with water.
Normally, the police try to divert traffic, but yesterday some police officers themselves organized a protest blockade near the iconic Independence Monument.
Police blocked six lanes of traffic, saying police stations had been without water for a week and that toilets were unusable.
The water shortage has exacerbated long-standing tensions between police officers and their superiors over issues such as sexual harassment and unfair working conditions. "The chiefs have water in their offices, but we are not allowed to enter there," said a policewoman who wished to remain anonymous. "They don't give us solutions. They brought a water truck today after they saw there was news about it in the media,'' she added.
Amid record temperatures and a severe drought, many buildings in the capital need to be supplied with water from tanker trucks, but these are in short supply and expensive. Yesterday, temperatures reached at least 40 degrees Celsius in about 85 percent of the country's territory.
Almost 40 percent of the country's dams are below 20 percent capacity, and 40 percent are between 20 and 50 percent full. Mexico City is forced to cut its water supply as the dams that supply the city run dry. Some shops no longer have mineral water.
Across the country, authorities had to truck in water for all needs, from hospitals to fire brigades. Low levels in hydroelectric dams have contributed to power outages in some parts of the country.