Dera, Ethiopia

For Ethiopian woredas named Dera, see Dera (disambiguation).
Dera
Dheeraa
Dera is located in Ethiopia
Dera
Dera
Location within Ethiopia
Coordinates: 8°20′N 39°19′E / 8.333°N 39.317°E / 8.333; 39.317
Country Ethiopia
RegionOromia
ZoneArsi Zone
Population
 (2005)
 • Total16,731
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)

Dera (or Dheeraa) is a town in southeastern Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 08°20′N 39°19′E / 8.333°N 39.317°E / 8.333; 39.317. It is the administrative center of Dodotana Sire woreda.

By the late 1960s, Dera was provided with electricity from a dam on the Awash River. In October 1969, Emperor Haile Selassie inaugurated a water supply system for the town built at a cost of Birr 170,000. The system drew water from the Awash II dam 10 kilometers away.[1] A weekly market is held on Mondays, where grain and livestock can be bought and sold.[2] According to the Oromia Regional government, this town is currently supplied with electricity 24 hours a day, and has telephone service.[3] Construction on the 99 kilometer road between Chole and Dera was completed and opened for traffic 15 August 2009, at a cost of over 146 million Birr. The Ethiopian Roads Authority reported that the new road would reduce the distance between the two towns by ahalf.[4]

On 17 May 1974, an official in Dera had a dispute with local farmers regarding land 7 kilometers away. The official returned with some city men and two police, and a fight with the locals ensued, in which two of the farmers and one of the police were killed. The local police at Asella wanted to occupy the site of the fight and place the inhabitants under military rule. The Governor General of Arsi Province refused to allow them to do this, but was himself soon arrested and removed.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Local History in Ethiopia"[permanent dead link] The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 16 January 2008)
  2. ^ "Ethiopian Village Studies: Korodegaga, Dodota, Arssi" Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine, p. 3, Centre for the Study of African Economies website (accessed 9 September 2009)
  3. ^ Socio-economic profile of Arsi Zone, Government of Oromia Region (last accessed 16 January 2008)
  4. ^ "99km Dera-Chole road officially opened for traffic"[permanent dead link], Ethiopian News Agency, 15 August 2009 (accessed 1 November 2009)