Drought team to assess damage

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has sent a delegation to the country’s southeast Baluchestan province to assess the impact of a drought which has ravaged the region and severely damaged farmlands. Iran’s Governor General Mahmoud Hoseyni told the official IRNA news agency investigation follows a letter by 149 MPs calling for compensation for those affected by the drought in the province. “Given the 100 percent damage caused to farmlands by the drought which has also taken its toll on the province’s livestock, the credit allocated is very little and would not compensate for the damages,” the letter said. Hoseyni said the equivalent of US $27.4 million had earlier been earmarked for drought compensation in Baluchestan. The drought this year has hit 18 of Iran’s 28 provinces.