Kelar or Kalâr (کهلار): is a town in Iraqi Kurdistan located on Sirwan (Diyala) river, and to the east of Kifri and to the west of Qasri Shirin and Sarpol Zahab in Kermanshah Province in western Iran. Part of the twin towns of Smud-Kelar, Smud was renamed Rizgari after the 1991 Kurdish uprising against the Ba'ath party. The neighborhood of Smud was a relocation camp for Kurdish people under the regime of Saddam Hussein.
The University of Kelar, a satellite campus of University of Sulaymaniyah, majors in agriculture.
Sherwana Castle, on the Sirwan River was built in the 1800s. It now serves as a museum for the artifacts uncovered from the mound on which it stands.
The University of Kelar, a satellite campus of University of Sulaymaniyah, majors in agriculture.
Sherwana Castle, on the Sirwan River was built in the 1800s. It now serves as a museum for the artifacts uncovered from the mound on which it stands.
Thursday, 24 July 2008, 11:24 EDT
Kalar is becoming a city
Pictured is a general view of the main street in downtown Kalar, which is southwest of Suleimaniya. GLOBE PHOTO/Ako MuhammedThe Globe - Kalar
A strategic location presents Kalar with new opportunities-and struggles
With a rapid rate of growth, the city-town of Kalar strives to keep up with the growing demands on its small infrastructure. Kalar town, 140 kilometers north of Suleimaniya city, is strategically and centrally located between Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Suleimaniya. Expanding rapidly, it is the second biggest town in Iraq after Falluja. Currently, the population inside the town is 168,000, and in the outskirts the population is 226,000. There are 23 neighborhoods. A village before 1972, Kalar's rapid expansion is due to its prime location and its close proximity to the Iranian border. An official border gate, the Parwez Khan Gate between Iran and Kurdistan Region, is primarily used for importing and transporting food, according to the head of Kalar's municipality, Jawad Wadi Saeed. And 95% of the people who work at the border gate are from Kalar town. All Kalar residents are Kurdish and the majority are Muslim. Around 1,000 families are of the Kakayee religion and have their own place of worship. Sirwan River, a famous Kurdish river that originates from Iran and, runs through Kalar. The Garmyan area, which consists of four towns, including Kalar, Kfri, Khanaqin, and Chamchamal, has been complaining of neglect at the hands of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Recently, Kurdistan's Council of Ministers decided to deal with Garmyan as a governorate, for which it has allocated a special budget. Kalar has been chosen as the center of the Garmyan governorate. Last year, The Kurdish Globe visited Kalar and noticed that there were few government services in the town; the roads were very poor, there was no library, bank, or parks. But the Globe recently visited Kalar again, and a bank, library, and parks are now under construction; new roads have already been built. Saeed said when he received this post at the end of 2007, he began constructing roads, including three two-sided roads, at a cost of 10 billion Iraqi dinars. Now the municipality is building a big park in the town center at a cost of $2,170,000 USD, and the project should be complete within a year. A closed hall for sports is also under construction. Saeed mentioned that the town's main problems, aside from roads and a lack of parks, include no place for youths and no trees around the town to protect it from the summer dust. He said the KRG should assist Kalar more because of its expansion, and it should increase the town's budget and employ more workers for the municipality. He also said the KRG should build apartments and sell them to people at a suitable price in order to solve the housing problem. Wahab Ahmed, a shopkeeper in the Kalar market, said, "The new head of the municipality is doing good work for the town; he is not like former heads of the municipality who did little." Ahmed said Kalar needs more works and services since it is a big town. "The works are not [appropriate for] the size of Kalar," added Ahmed. He stated that there is not a proper garage in the town's market or a proper cleaning system to rid the market of its trash. He also mentioned that the asphalt used in the roads is of poor quality. Meanwhile, Saeed said that even though there are 23 neighborhoods in the town, the municipality only has 11 trash trucks and 105 cleaners. The KRG must alleviate this problem, he said.
Kalar is becoming a city
Pictured is a general view of the main street in downtown Kalar, which is southwest of Suleimaniya. GLOBE PHOTO/Ako MuhammedThe Globe - Kalar
A strategic location presents Kalar with new opportunities-and struggles
With a rapid rate of growth, the city-town of Kalar strives to keep up with the growing demands on its small infrastructure. Kalar town, 140 kilometers north of Suleimaniya city, is strategically and centrally located between Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Suleimaniya. Expanding rapidly, it is the second biggest town in Iraq after Falluja. Currently, the population inside the town is 168,000, and in the outskirts the population is 226,000. There are 23 neighborhoods. A village before 1972, Kalar's rapid expansion is due to its prime location and its close proximity to the Iranian border. An official border gate, the Parwez Khan Gate between Iran and Kurdistan Region, is primarily used for importing and transporting food, according to the head of Kalar's municipality, Jawad Wadi Saeed. And 95% of the people who work at the border gate are from Kalar town. All Kalar residents are Kurdish and the majority are Muslim. Around 1,000 families are of the Kakayee religion and have their own place of worship. Sirwan River, a famous Kurdish river that originates from Iran and, runs through Kalar. The Garmyan area, which consists of four towns, including Kalar, Kfri, Khanaqin, and Chamchamal, has been complaining of neglect at the hands of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Recently, Kurdistan's Council of Ministers decided to deal with Garmyan as a governorate, for which it has allocated a special budget. Kalar has been chosen as the center of the Garmyan governorate. Last year, The Kurdish Globe visited Kalar and noticed that there were few government services in the town; the roads were very poor, there was no library, bank, or parks. But the Globe recently visited Kalar again, and a bank, library, and parks are now under construction; new roads have already been built. Saeed said when he received this post at the end of 2007, he began constructing roads, including three two-sided roads, at a cost of 10 billion Iraqi dinars. Now the municipality is building a big park in the town center at a cost of $2,170,000 USD, and the project should be complete within a year. A closed hall for sports is also under construction. Saeed mentioned that the town's main problems, aside from roads and a lack of parks, include no place for youths and no trees around the town to protect it from the summer dust. He said the KRG should assist Kalar more because of its expansion, and it should increase the town's budget and employ more workers for the municipality. He also said the KRG should build apartments and sell them to people at a suitable price in order to solve the housing problem. Wahab Ahmed, a shopkeeper in the Kalar market, said, "The new head of the municipality is doing good work for the town; he is not like former heads of the municipality who did little." Ahmed said Kalar needs more works and services since it is a big town. "The works are not [appropriate for] the size of Kalar," added Ahmed. He stated that there is not a proper garage in the town's market or a proper cleaning system to rid the market of its trash. He also mentioned that the asphalt used in the roads is of poor quality. Meanwhile, Saeed said that even though there are 23 neighborhoods in the town, the municipality only has 11 trash trucks and 105 cleaners. The KRG must alleviate this problem, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment