Babil Provincial Council Renames al-Jurf al-Nasr Area Nasir City

BABIL, Iraq — The Babil Provincial Council has voted to rename al-Jurf al-Nasr, an agricultural area about 60 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, as Nasir City. The council said the new name was chosen in the hope that victory over ISIS would begin in the area, which witnessed military operations that led to its liberation from the group. At the same emergency session, the council discussed environmental and health complaints from residents of the Nile district about the local waste collection site. Provincial Council President Asad al-Muslihawi said pollution in the area was threatening residents’ health and ordered relevant departments, led by the agriculture directorate, to identify an alternative waste disposal site within three days. Muslihawi said security forces would establish a security cordon to prevent waste burning at the existing site. He added that the competent authorities had been given 20 days to turn the waste collection area into an investment project. Hille Municipality Director Ahmed al-Muntasir said the waste site had been problematic since 2007. He said the municipality had shifted toward an investment model that includes generating energy from waste because sufficient funds were unavailable for an alternative site, and that the project requires approval from the Iraqi Investment Commission and the Ministry of Electricity.