More than 150 check dams to be constructed this year: MoWE

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) says it plans to build 155 check dams in a number of provinces this year.

A check dam is a small dam constructed across a drainage ditch, swale, or channel to lower the velocity of flow. Reduced runoff velocity reduces erosion and gullying in the channel and allows sediments to settle out.

Matiullah Abid, a spokesman for MoWE, told Pajhwok Afghan News that last year the ministry had planned to construct 140 check dams and 50 of them were constructed and the rest were under construction.

He said a budget of 420 million had been set aside for these check dams, which would be paid by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

These check dams have been built in Kabul, Ghazni, Logar, Bamyan, Parwan and Nangarhar povinces.

Abid said 155 check dams would be constructed at the country level this year and hoped the dams would store thousands of cubic meters of water. He said nothing about the cost.

According to him, international institutions have not contributed significantly to projects related to MoEW. He called on international institutions to finance the projects.

At the same time, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) spokesman Misbahuddin Mustain told Pajhwok their ministry constructed 138 check dams at a cost of 414 million afghanis in 10 provinces last year.

These check dams have been built in Uruzgan, Kandahar, Takhar, Jawzjan, Badakhshan, Nangarhar, Laghman, Faryab, Bamyan and Daykandi provinces.

He added the check dams were aimed at reducing the effects of drought, preventing flash floods, managing seasonal water flow and increasing the level of underground water.

Mullah Noor-ul-Hadi Adil, a spokesman for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, told Pajhwok that the IEA leadership had tasked the ministry with constructing 142 check dams in solar year 1402.

Prof. Mohammad Dawood Sherzad, director of Environmental Protection Faculty of Kabul University, told Pajhwok that water management was more important than anything else for a geography like Afghanistan and other similiter regions with arid and semi-arid climates.

He said t water management could be done in different ways and at different levels, so it was important for the government of Afghanistan to manage its vital resources.

He added that conditions and facilities were important for water management. “Because if the economic situation is not very good, in such circumstances, more attention should be paid to small dams and check dams instead of big dams for water management.”

Common people also consider the construction of check dams very effective, but they insist they should be built with quality.

Abdul Bari, a resident of Logar province, told Pajhwok check dams would store water agriculture.

Mohammad Yar, a resident of Takht-i-Pul district of Kandahar province, also said check dams had many benefits, but they should be built with good quality.

sa/ma

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