KABUL (Pajhwok): President Ashraf Ghani, who arrived in western Farah province to assess ravages caused by recent foods, on Saturday promised to implement some infrastructure projects in the province.
Ghani would observe the relief operation and humanitarian assistance to the affected families, the Presidential Palace said in a statement. The president will also meet various groups of local people and officials during his trip, it added.
Farah Governor Muhammad Shoaib Sabet said the main purpose of Ghani’s visit was to assist the affected people and share his sympathy with those who lost their beloved ones to the floods.
The president would also assess the security situation in the province and inaugurate work on the construction of Bakhshabad dam, he said.
Provincial health officials said the president would inaugurate a 200-bed hospital that was recently completed.
Meanwhile, President Ghani met with a number of youths and civil society, water management and the Bakhshabad dam.
They also urged the president to prioritize addressing problems concerning health, cold storages, the provincial university’s development and demanded dispatching a high authority delegation for assessment of Farah security situation.
The president told the attendees that his government had talked with Siemens Company to use winds in Farah, Nimroz and Herat provinces in producing electricity because these winds were estimated to produce 65,000 megawatts of power.
President Ghani also promised with the Farah youths that the university’s surrounding wall would be constructed.
The president said assistance for families affected by recent foods was taking place and the damages would be repaired at the earliest possible.
A high level delegation will visit Farah soon to evaluate the province security situation, said the president.
Ghani said Farah would witness development changes with implantation of the Turkmenistan, Afghanistan (TAP) project and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
Ghani also met with some Islamic scholars and influential people in Farah to hear their demands and suggestions.
Abdul Habib, a tribal elder, told the gathering that residents of Farah supported the current National Unity Government (NUG).
He shared people’s concerns about security, poverty and electricity and added that Farah has much potential, which needed attention in order to bring about positive changes in people’s lives and increase the national income
He also thanked President Ghani for his promise to dispatch a high level delegation for assessing security situation in the province and measures for security improvement.
President Ghani said fundamental works on the Bakhshabad dam had been carried out and these works would continue to reduce power tariff from 35 million afghanis to 17 million afghanis in the next solar year.
He added they had directed Da Afghanistan Breshna Shirkat (DABS) to increase its generating capacity from four megawatts to six megawatts until renewal of imported electricity.
pk/ma
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