The joy and happiness of the Iranian people over the last few days of snowfall throughout the country, heralding a spring and summer of plenty of crops and an ample supply of water, has turned into a winter of discontent.

Hundreds of houses are without gas, rendering people not only without heat, but also deprived of their means for cooking.

Commuters on the Tehran-Karaj metro were stranded for hours in a state of cold and misery because of a cut in the power supply. Schools in some areas were closed due to a lack of heating in classrooms. Road surfaces in northern Tehran were so icy that many people could not leave their cold houses to go to work.

All this occurred because of a few days of rain and snow. After cutting the supply of gas in large areas of the city, the gas company somewhat facetiously asked its customers to save gas. After having stranded its passengers for hours, the Metro Organization has simply solved its problem by closing the line and the service to the people. The supply of gas cylinders or kerosene is suspended because of icy conditions on the roads.

Every responsible organization blames its shortcoming, inadequacy and incompetence on something or somebody else. No one seems to care or understand the plight of the people, or the hardship that has been brought upon the population by their careless attitude.

The irresponsible behavior of officials is shameful and reprehensible. Not only do they owe a great apology to the people, but they must take immediate steps to remedy the wrongs they have inflicted and make sure that similar things do not happen in the future.