9 reservoirs and 1,200 km of irrigation canals were destroyed during the 30 years of occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Adviser to the Chairman of the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency, Chingiz Abdullayev, said at the conference on "Reconstruction of water and irrigation infrastructure in the Karabakh region" held in Baku.

"During the occupation, Armenia seriously damaged the water infrastructure of Azerbaijan, polluted water basins, and used water resources as a means of political pressure. Although Azerbaijan repeatedly appealed to international organizations regarding these issues, the occupying state ignored it. Work is being done to restore the water infrastructure in the liberated areas. Thus, in 2023, new drinking and wastewater networks were put into operation in the city of Lachin, and the implementation of a new project was started in Fuzuli. The construction of the Zarislichay pumping station and the central reservoir has been completed in order to increase the sustainability of drinking water supply in Shusha city," Abdullayev noted.