TEHRAN – Some 938 fire stations are operating and serving the rural areas across the country, Ali Ghorbani, deputy head of village council affairs of Municipalities and Village Administrations, has said.

Due to the occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods and the vulnerability of most villages in such incidents, it is necessary to provide suitable and reliable support and services to deal with natural disasters and crises, he said.

Over 9,000 villages, equivalent to 25 percent of the country's rural areas, are covered by these services, he said, IRNA reported on Sunday.

Increasing the number of fire stations, supplying the necessary machines and equipment, and training employees are on the agenda of this organization, he noted.

Development plans

A total of 31 trillion rials (nearly $103 million) for the eradication of deprivation in rural areas was approved by the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) in the budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023).

The comprehensive development plans aim to develop rural areas in line with cultural, economic, and social conditions, as well as housing provision for the rural residents and improving environmental services.

There are around 40,000 villages in the country with more than 20 households, for all of which comprehensive development plans have been approved every 10 years.

Currently, 26 percent of the country's population lives in villages, around 39,000 villages have more than 20 households and 23,000 villages have less than 20 households.

Thus, more than 97 percent of the country's rural population lives in villages with over 20,000 households.

In Iran, where villages account for generating 20-23 percent of the value-added in the country, the development of rural areas has been always a top agenda of the government’s activities.

FB/MG