Funds to Restore Dez River Banks Allocated

A year after floods inflicted hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to urban and rural structures, including parks and farms, in Dezful, Khuzestan Province, the government has made 15 billion rials ($390,000) available to repair the damage.

“The funds will be used to restore structures along the banks of Dez River (which runs through Dezful), including parks such as Dowlat, Ra’na and Ali Malek, and Ali Kaleh promenade,” said Abdolhossein Pour-Rokni, deputy for urban planning at Dezful’s Governorate.

“The money will enable us to repair the routes and areas that were destroyed in last year’s flood,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Besides urban structures, villages in Dezful County also suffered losses due to the overflowing river.

“Loans of up to 30 million rials ($800) with a 4% interest rate have been granted to villagers of the central and Chogha Mish districts,” said the official.

According to Pour-Rokni, up to 2 billion rials ($53,000) have so far been offered to those affected in the form of loans.

Furthermore, low-interest loans will be offered this year to villagers in Sardasht and Sheyhoun districts that have been affected by the flood. Last year in mid-April, Dez River burst its banks after torrential rains and caused enormous damage to farmlands, livestock and rural structures as well as tourism infrastructure by the river, with local officials saying some structures were “completely destroyed”.

Dez River is a tributary of Karoun River and is 400 km long. It is a major river in Khuzestan and among the most vital to its economy. It originates in the central Zagros Mountain Range and flows into the Karoun at about 100 km south of Dezful.