�������t¶��

“They created a structure that favoured export,” said Roberto Miranda, a professor of sociology at the Federal University of Campina Grande.

Cities like Campina Grande in Paraiba were nearing emergency conditions, Reuters found in a visit to the area last year, with a reservoir running down to 4 percent of capacity and agriculture in crisis without irrigation.

A reservoir serving 700,000 people in the Campina Grande metropolitan area, the largest city served by the eastern canal, is now nearly stabilized, Barbalho said.

President Michel Temer was due to open the first of two canals next week, according to officials in the parched state of Paraíba, where the second largest city, Campina Grande, is fast running out of water.

Campina Grande's 400,000 inhabitants have had water rationing for two years and face the prospect of their taps running dry if the transfer water does not arrive soon.