Balkh’s Chahar Bolak residents face scarcity of clean water

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Residents of Chahar Bolak district in northern Ballkh province say they lack access to potable water and want the government to resolve this issue.

The residents say they travel for kilometers to fetch drinking water home, blaming the unavailability of drinking water on prolonged drought.

However, local officials in northern Balkh province while acknowledging the issue promised to address it.

Abdul Rahim, a resident of ‘Nawarid Ornaghi’ village, told Pajhwok Afghan News that all 800 families of the village had no access to clean water and, they faced difficulties due the scarcity of potable water in their village.

He said residents and household animals drunk water from rain-fed ponds in the area.

Rahim said: “There are some ponds in our village, but their water is not clean because of the dirt which causes numerous health issues.”

He called on the government to address their drinking water issue.

Asadullah, a resident of Korachee village, made similar complaint about the lack of clean water in their village, saying they had to walk for kilometers to bring clean water. He said some people used motorbikes for this purpose.

Asadullah added the routes to the ponds were unpaved and residents had hard time to bring clean water. He called on the government to make solving the issue of clean water a priority.

Noor Mohammad, a resident of Esa Khel village, also complained about the lack of clean water.

He said residents of other districts had access to clean water because of some water supply systems and asked the government to solve their water shortage issue by building water supply systems.

Ghulam Dastager Jalali, district chief of Chahar Bolak, also admitted the issue, but promised on its solution.

Jalali said: “The population of all 172 villages in this district reaches 120,000 individuals and about 90 percent of them have no access to clean water.” He said only a limited number of water supply projects were implemented in some villages of the district.

He assured the residents of Chahar Bolak that the government was trying to extend its services to all areas affected during the wars.

It is worth mentioning that besides Chahar Bolak, a number of residents of other districts such as Chimtal, Dawlatabad, Chaharkint, Shulgara, Marmul and others have no access to clean and healthy water.

aw/ma