GHAZNI CITY (Pajhwok): Spending their own money, residents of the Malistan district of southern Ghazni province have launched construction work on a dam at a cost of one million US dollars.
They say the lack of irrigation water forced them to start construction work on the dam at own cost.
Haji Alizada, a tribal elder of the district, told Pajhwok Afghan News inhabitants of the area, who are associated with agriculture and livestock, have long been facing shortage of irrigation water.
He said locals in Sherdagh area started construction work on the dam on self-help basis in order to address the issue.
He added: “The project will help manage water, prevent floods and strengthen underground water resources and fill canals with water and agriculture will grow with completion of the project.”
Iwaz Ali, another inhabitant of the area, said the underground water level was depleting with passing each day, severely damaging agriculture and livestock sectors.
He said the previous government had promised several times construction of this dam, but they did not fulfill the promise.
Tala Mohammad, an engineer of the project, told Pajhwok the dam would have the capacity to store 1.6 million cubic metres of water with a height of 20 meters, a width of 105 meters and a length of 80 meters.
He added the project would cost one million US dollars pooled by local residents and Afghan citizens living abroad.
He added they also planned to extend a big canal from the dam so that 5,000 families in 25 villages could irrigate their agriculture lands.
He said as many as 50 residents of the area were also employed in the project wich would take two years to complete.
Meanwhile, local officials also praised local residents over the initiative.
Eng. Mohammad Nazir Sahar, an official of Ghazni’s sub-basin department, said the government lacked enough budget to construct dams in all districts of the province and provide them with employment opportunities.
He urged residents of other districts to implement similar development schemes in their areas.
He added they had started construction work on check dams in Ab Band, Nawar, Nawa and some other districts of the province in cooperation with partner institutions, which were useful in water management and creating job opportunities for local residents.
Two years ago, residents of Jaghori district initiated construction work on a dam in Sangjoi Loman area, which is still in progress.
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