Uplift schemes urged for Khak-i-Afghan district

QALAT (Pajhwok): No development or reconstruction scheme has been implemented in the Khak-i-Afghan district of southern Zabul provinces in the past 20 years, residents complain.

Siddiqullah, a resident of the long-neglected district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that Khak-i-Afghan remained backward as reconstruction projects could not be executed there due to insecurity over the past two decades.

The most serious problem for residents is the lousy road leading from the district to the provincial capital, according to Siddiqullah, who said the route spoke volume for Khak-i-Afghan’s backwardness.

Patients often lost their lives on the way to hospital because of the poor condition of the road, he said, calling on the government to rebuild it on a priority basis.

Fazal Mohammad, another resident, also grumbled about the dilapidated roads, as well as lack of schools and health centres. Inhabitants of the district were deprived of basic needs of life, he regretted.

“One huge tragedy is that in the last 20 years, children of the district have grown up without education because there are no schools here,” he explained.

Mohammad added residents of Khak-i-Afghan had been affected severely by the recent drought and were facing economic problems as a result.

He urged the current government to pay due attention to the development of the district and providing elemental facilities to the people.

Akhtar Jan, another resident, told Pajhwok that many people were in dire need of emergency assistance. They had received no humanitarian aid so far, he claimed.

Suleman Agha Baheer, deputy governor of Zabul, promised the provincial administration would pay more attention to all remote districts in the upcoming solar year.

He added aid agencies would also be persuaded to help residents of under-developed areas and help resolve their problems.

sa/mud