22 water management projects open in Badakhshan

FAIZABAD (Pajhwok): Twenty two water-management projects worth over 39 million afghanis and benefitting eight districts have been opened in northeastern Badakhshan province, officials said on Tuesday.

Maulvi Amanullah Hassan, provincial Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation director, told Pjhwok Afghan News the projects included construction of canals, water-heads, retaining walls, water channels.

The projects cost over 39.8 million afghanis and were implemented in Argo, Kisham, Daryaim, Yaftal Payan, Shuhada, Baharak, Wardoj and Zibak districts of Badakhshan.

All of these projects were financially funded by the Norwegian Refugee Council in cooperation with local Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation department.

The projects would help solve irrigation problem of over 7,000 acres of land and increase agricultural crops in the districts, Hassan said.

Local farmers hailed the projects and asked for more attention of the government to the water management sector.

Expressing his pleasure, Mohammad Anwar, one of the farmers in Baharak district, called scarcity of irrigation water as their only challenge and said the water-heads would solve their problem.

“We faced scarcity of irrigation water, although two rivers flow at the two sides of our land.”

He further asked officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to build dams on Kokcha and Wardoj rivers and basically address the issue of water shortages in the area.

aw/ma