( AP ) - Turkey's two major cities are grappling with water shortages after record-low snow and rain falls in the winter and searing summer temperatures, officials said Thursday.
Reservoirs are less than 5 percent full in the capital, Ankara, which has a 4 million population, according to the country's water authority, and the municipality on Wednesday began imposing two-days on, two-days off of water cuts at homes.
A project to divert water from a nearby river was launched in March, but the water was not expected to reach the city until November.
Authorities were considering delaying the start of the school year by a month -- to mid-October -- to avert possible spread of diseases at schools, Mayor Melih Gokcek said. Hospitals were being supplied with groundwater carried by tankers.
Water cuts could be increased to four days, Ankara water department director Ihsan Fincan said Thursday. The municipality was planning to send 16,000 of its employees on summer vacation to save on water in the city, he said.
The reservoirs of Istanbul, a metropolis of more than 10 million, have sufficient water to last another three to four months, according to water authority estimates.
Istanbul has no plans to impose similar water cuts, Mayor Kadir Topbas said. The city was also working against time to divert water from nearby rivers.
Mustafa Cagrici, the mufti or chief cleric of Istanbul, told private news channel NTV on Thursday that special prayers were being said across the city for rain.
"In times of trouble, it is natural for people to seek Allah's help for problems that they cannot solve," he said.
Sales of large, plastic water containers have surged in Ankara and elsewhere, with residents stockpiling on water, Posta newspaper reported. Sales of bottled drinking water were also up.
In Ankara, the containers, which sold for about $4.50 before the water cuts, were now selling for $13.
Bans on watering lawns and washing cars with hoses have been in place for months and there have been television ads and Friday sermons at mosques to encourage people to save on water.
The drought has affected agriculture in parts of the country, preventing irrigation and drying up crops.