The Ministry of Water Resources announced, today, Friday, the filling and removal of 550 encroaching fish lakes south of Baghdad. Director of Mesopotamian Water Resources, Maitham Saleh, said in a statement: "In coordination with the National Center for Water Resources Management, "work is continuing to fill 40 refilled lakes within the Radhwaniyah sector, after monitoring the refilled encroaching fish lakes, and was able to dry them up and fill them up, to ensure that they are not exploited again," indicating that "the directorate has taken legal measures against the violators." He added that "the Mesopotamian Water Resources Directorate continues to implement the marashna system on the main and secondary rivers and streams, to ensure the delivery of water to the pumping stations and agricultural lands, in addition to supervising the cleaning of streams and rivers in preparation for the upcoming winter season." For his part, Director of Irrigation and Drainage Projects Maintenance in Mesopotamia, Thamer Al-Shabli, explained that "there is a joint automated effort that includes the Water Resources Directorate and the Maintenance Directorate, which carried out the work of filling the encroaching fish lakes and breaking the dams of the lakes, within the Radhwaniyah, Alexandria, Latifiyah, Yusufiyah and Rashid sectors and Shishbar, to ensure that the lakes are not filled again." He continued, "The Mesopotamia Irrigation and Drainage Projects Maintenance Directorate completed 64% of the work of cleaning the streams and drains during the first half of this year, in addition to the work of removing the Shambalan plant and the Nile flower plant." The statement indicated that "these procedures come within the Ministry's directions aimed at addressing water scarcity in all governorates of the country. Source: National Iraqi News Agency