Van Metropolitan Municipality Water and Sewerage Administration (VASKİ) General Directorate, has increased water bills by 43%. The price of cubic metres for housing water rose from 2.77 to 3.93, while for business it rose from 3.89 to 5.89.

Following the appointment of State trustee to the HDP-run Van Metropolitan Municipality, on 19 August 2019, the new administration began its activities by increasing prices. First in transport, then hitting thousands of citizens who could not pay their water bills. Not content with this, VASKI General Directorate increased by 43% the price of drinking water.

In Van, where unemployment reaches 80 percent, people are fighting both poverty and unemployment. Two major earthquakes in 2011 and the the appointment of trustees replacing the HDP's democratically elected co-mayors, in both 2016 and 2019, the people of Van began to face economic difficulties.

Thousands of tradesmen in Van had to close their business because of the economic crisis and thousands of them went bankrupt. With the appointment of trustees, thousands of people working in municipalities and other public institutions were fired. Border trade was banned by the AKP government. Livestock, the livelihood of thousands of people, pastures and plateaus came to an end because of the ban imposed on many areas for so called "security reasons".

'The State is harassing us'

While the people of Van are fighting against poverty and unemployment, Van trustee is trying to get people's money by increasing prices. The people protested the latest decision to increase drinking water price saying that they have already many difficulties in securing bread on the table.