SHEIKH KHALIFA’S CALL FOR PRAYER

They urge the use of desalination equipment and dams

The President calls on the faithful to pray for rain as country’s water supplies run low,

As the faithful gather in mosques to pray for rain this morning, farmers across the UAE say the lack of rain has forced them to stop planting crops and even abandon their plots of land. Mohammad Al Darmaki, 60, a farmer from Kalba, said he had stopped working on his land because of the dire situation. More dams to collect rainwater and desalination equipment could help to ease farmers’ woes.

Salem Al Dahmani, 36, said his parents abandoned their farm in Kalba many years ago because of the lack of water. “After they abandoned the farm I decided to help them go back and grow crops, but it wasn’t an easy task because it required the help of the authorities to either build a desalination plant or to help farmers to switch to a hydroponic system,” he said. “Without rain the task becomes harder and groundwater decreases, which also affects farmers and their crops.”

Ali Al Abudily, a farmer from Dibba, said most of his colleagues in the area relied on groundwater collected from wells and helped one another when there was no rain.

“I grow many kinds of vegeta- bles and fruit. Water has been always an issue for us, and with the recent lack of rainfall the issue is becoming more complicated, as many of us rely on wells,” he said.

A groundwater engineer said water taken from dams could only be replenished by rainfall.

On Sunday, President Sheikh Khalifa called for a prayer for rain, known as Salaat Al Istisqaa, to be performed in all mosques and musallahs across the country at 7.30am today.

He called on all Muslims in the country to pray to Allah to bless the land with rain and mercy, in accordance with the Prophet Mohammed’s Sunnah Course.