Baku, Azerbaijan, March 14
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
The Iranian parliament has allocated 800 billion rials (about $28 million) to fight the dust storms in the country, said MP Esmail Jalili.
The sum comes as part of the national budget for the next Iranian calendar year (starting March 21), Tasnim news agency reported March 14.
Jalili further stated that 600 billion rials (about $21 million) of the sum is to be allocated to crisis management and 200 billion rials (about $7 million) to be used for mulching areas that create dust the most.
The MP went on to say that the people of Khuzestan Province have suffered greatly in the wake of recent dust storms.
The worst dust storm in the area was reported in the province's capital Ahvaz late January with 10 thousand microgram per cubic meter of dust in air, 66 times over the healthy limit.
Heavy dust storm in Ahvaz forced officials to call off the afternoon school sessions Jan. 27.
Jalili said that the only thing to have diminished the dust recently was the rainfall of several days ago. He expressed dissatisfaction with lack of decisive action by the government to tackle the situation.
In recent years, dust storms in the western part of Iran have grown in frequency and density. It has on occasions caused people serious respiratory problems, sometimes even forcing them to seek medical attention in hospitals.