Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 3, 1996

I woke up at dawn and did not sleep again. I saw and heard the reports and news. Mr. [Hamid] Mirzadeh, [Head of the Plan and Budget Organization], came. He gave a report on the approval of the generalities of the budget amendment bill. We flew toward the Bibi Hakimeh region. I inaugurated the gas injection project into the Bibi Hakimeh oil reservoirs. At a cost of eight million dollars and 12 billion tomans, which was done by domestic experts at one third of the foreign contractors' proposal, and it will lead to the recovery of one billion and 200 million barrels of oil.

[Mr. Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh], the Oil Minister, gave a report on the program of gas injection into the oil reservoirs, which will be completed soon and will altogether lead to the recovery of 10 billion barrels of oil, which is a huge work. I too spoke about the importance of this work and the harms of the delay in this work in the past and the importance of the rise of domestic technical capability in the oil industries.

We flew to the site of the great Chamshir Dam. It is in the study phase of the first phase, with a capacity of nearly two billion cubic meters of water, on the Zohreh River, which will irrigate more than 80 thousand hectares of land in Gachsaran, Khuzestan, and Bushehr, and because of its location and site, it will cost very little. The site of the dam body and the lake and the natural spillway site are among its advantages.

We flew to the Emamzadeh Ja'far Plain. We saw the agricultural exhibition and I inaugurated the projects for establishing agricultural cooperatives and the project for digging 10 deep wells to irrigate the plain, and I spoke to the local people who had gathered. Then we inaugurated the artificial recharge project for the plain's underground aquifer. The Ministry of Energy has implemented it at a cost of 200 million tomans, to inject 10 million cubic meters of water a year, which compensates for the plain's withdrawals.

Then, for Construction Jihad's aquifer management project, we went to the Ab-dalan site, which has 2,000 hectares of forest planting and five million cubic meters of water injection. After visiting the nomads' life exhibition and the nomad settlement program and talking with the nomad families and the report of Messrs. [Mohammad-Taqi] Amanpour, [Deputy Minister of Education and Research of the Construction Jihad Ministry], and [Jahanshah] Seddiq, [Head of the Nomadic Affairs Organization], about the aquifer management and nomad settlement program, and hearing the interesting anthem of the nomads' children about me, I spoke to the nomads. I got on a horse that a martyr's father had given as a gift.

Then we flew toward the interesting Margoun waterfall in Fars Province. On the way I ate some delicious bread and kebab that the nomads had brought along for us. Near two in the afternoon, we landed at the Margoun site. The Governor-General, the Friday Prayer Imam, and the heads of Fars Province had come to welcome us. The villages along the route to the waterfall gave a warm welcome. There, the [Environmental Protection] Organization has built a small building where we had prayers, lunch, and a rest. Then we went to see the waterfall, which is very interesting. They took many photographs and films.

We returned to Yasuj. At the Roads and Transportation Office, we had the ceremony for the inauguration of a section of the important Yasuj–Semirom road, with the report of the deputies of the Ministry of Roads and Transportation and my speech. Then we went to the road and unveiled the plaque. On the way, we had a large gathering of people.

Then we went to the Shahnab fruit concentrate factory. They gave a report, and we took part in the inauguration ceremony of eight industrial projects at the same place; with the report of the Shahnab managing director and the showing of films of the other factories—melamine, boiler-making, aluminum profiles, cube sugar, notebook-making, and snack-making. [Mr. Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh], the Minister of Industries, and I also spoke.

After the sunset prayer, we went to the medical university. After the inauguration of the CT scan and 29 health houses and centers and two dormitories for male and female students, at the ceremony the university president gave a report, and I spoke about the good indicators of treatment and insurance and health.

Then we went to the Yasuj Higher Education Complex; with the long report of [Dr. Hosseini], the university president, and my speech and the acceptance of its transformation into a university, which is their request and that of the province's management, and the construction of the Faculty of Agriculture began.

I went to the great gathering of the university community and educators, in the city's large sports hall. It was very enthusiastic. The students performed two interesting anthems about me and the construction program. The heads of the university, education, the broadcasting organization, and physical education gave reports and all spoke of the rapid and great growth of their work and domain, which is honorable. I too spoke about the speed of economic growth and infrastructural affairs and the country's better future, after the projects and the deprivation-removal program bear fruit. Two teachers also spoke informally about their low salaries and their living problems. Three projects were also inaugurated with the unveiling of the memorial plaque.

We went to the Governor-General's Office. [Mr. Samad Rajaa], the Governor-General, gave a report and raised the requests. [Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Movahed], the representative of Boyer-Ahmad, spoke and, thanking for the services, raised the shortcomings. I too spoke about the progress and future programs and the solidity of the political and economic situation and promised to fulfill the requests.

I came to the residence. The commander of the Fath Brigade came; Brigadier General [Rahim] Now'i Aqdam, who is a 55 percent war-disabled veteran of the front. He spoke of the brigade's needs and gave an account of his own sincerity and devotion; he is an interesting man. Until twelve at night, I wrote today's memoirs and fell asleep with extreme exhaustion.