Memories of Akbar Hashemi - September 22, 2000 - Meeting with the Director of the Regional Water Authority of West Azerbaijan Alongside Reza Ardakanian, Deputy Minister of Energy, and Continuing Follow-ups on Related Matters by Hashemi

Meeting with the Director of the Regional Water Authority of West Azerbaijan Alongside Reza Ardakanian, Deputy Minister of Energy, and Continuing Follow-ups on Related Matters by Hashemi, Along with Political Conversations with Ardakanian

Visit to a Private Mining Complex in Miyaneh

Full Text of the Daily Note:

Mr. Mahrami brought several of his artistic works made from agate stones. His son, a geology student, accompanied him. He mentioned that he had discovered and registered an agate mine in Qaflan Kouh, south of the city of Miyaneh, and was seeking a loan for its exploitation. We visited his mine, located next to the ancient Castle of the Daughter, where there are agate veins in the rocks of the area. It was agreed that the governor would assist them. His main profession is architecture. He said he had stopped this work due to a decrease in construction activities over the years. We also heard some explanations about the castle; there were various accounts regarding who built it.

The Director General of Water in Azerbaijan, accompanied by Mr. Reza Ardakanian, the Deputy Minister of Energy, came and provided explanations about the Estor Dam based on maps. They acknowledged that national interests necessitate the construction of the dam to save the Manjil Dam from sedimentation and to protect 200,000 hectares of rice fields in Gilan. However, they stated that it would not benefit the province of Azerbaijan and the city of Miyaneh; rather, it would create many problems due to the flooding of about seventeen villages and thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land, leading to the displacement of around 20,000 people, which would result in severe social and security issues. We had an extensive discussion with the governor and representatives from Miyaneh—Mr. Seyed Hossein Hashemi and Mr. Mohammad Kiafar—and the latest solution to the problem is to allocate significant investment for job creation for villagers around the large dam lake and downstream, as well as in other areas of Miyaneh. I suggested forming a committee of relevant officials with full authority for this purpose.

We went to see the dam site and the large lake area behind the dam. Engineer Eftekhari and Engineer Meydani, the director of water and wastewater in the province, along with Mr. Kiafar, provided explanations: it will regulate about two billion cubic meters of water and control sedimentation, and there will be a lake covering over 50 square kilometers and 30 kilometers long behind the dam, extending close to the city of Miyaneh.

A group of residents from the village of “Koh Benan,” located below the dam and the last village of Miyaneh, gathered and said they were waiting for the dam's construction to start so they could escape unemployment and migration. In contrast, the villagers above the dam were worried about mass migration, and one of them mentioned that there is also a village named Koh Benan in Kerman; I confirmed this.

We visited the site of the “Aydoughmoosh” dam, where I laid the foundation six years ago, bringing great hope for the development of Miyaneh. It will cover 14,000 hectares with modern agriculture. Unfortunately, it has not received attention from the current government, and progress on the dam has been slow. Mr. Meydani reported that if funding is provided quickly, it will be completed by 2003. We visited the water diversion tunnels that are under construction. In an interview, I expressed hope that the government would provide the funding sooner; it was initially planned to be constructed with 7 billion tomans, but due to delays, the cost has risen to 15 billion tomans.

We returned to the guesthouse. On the way, Mr. Ardakanian expressed concern about the plan to merge ministries, calling it harmful, dangerous, and unrefined. At 3 PM, we headed towards Tehran by car via Zanjan. Along the way, we stopped at a mosque in Hashtgerd to pray the evening and night prayers. We arrived home at 9 PM.