DUSHANBE, June 13, Asia-Plus - The government discussed issues related to mitigation of effects of disasters in Shahritus and Qubodiyon districts and combating locusts and other pests at a June 12 session presided over by President Emomali Rahmon.  

Telling the session, Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov and other officials noted that torrential rain and flooding on June 5 caused serious damage to a number of settlements and agricultural fields in the mentioned districts. 

During the meeting, it was noted that in all, 628 residential buildings, six educational facilities, several sub-stations and 2,348 hectares of farmland had been damaged by heavy rains and flooding.  

The disasters left three dead and destroyed 24 houses completely.  A total damage caused to the two districts by disasters amounted to some 4.922 million.  

Shahritus and Qubodiyon authorities have taken urgent measures to mitigate the disaster effects.  56 tents, food products and other relief supplies were delivered to the disaster-hit areas.  Families members of which were killed by disaster received 1,000 somonis each.  

The president set concrete tasks to intensify work on repairing the damaged residential buildings and providing assistance to the disaster-hit population.  

He also demanded at the meeting that issue of preventing possible flooding at the Chubek water-intake facility should be taken under strict control.  

According to agricultural authorities, pests affected 83,100 hectares of farmland in the country.   

The head of state ordered to set up a special structure in the country for combating pests.  

The session also summed up Tajikistan’s economic results over the first five months of the year.  It was noted that the country''s gross domestic product (GDP) had risen by 6.6 percent of the report period and inflation for the first five months of 2007 had stood at 3.1 percent.  

Over the same five-month period, banks have provided small loans to entrepreneurs in remote mountain districts for a total mount of 785 million somonis.