In 9 Farah districts, dirt tracks trigger complaints

FARAH CITY (Pajhwok): Roads leading to all but two districts of western Farah province remain unpaved, posing serious challenges to residents.

In the 11-district province, a predominantly agricultural region lying cheek by jowl with the Iranian border, Bala Baluk and Farah Rud alone have paved roads.

Deeply frustrated with the deplorable state of link routes across Farah, residents complain they have to grapple with a whole host of transportation problems on a daily basis.

In the absence of proper roads, they grumble, patients cannot reach hospital in time. Agricultural products cannot easily find their way to the market as commute between the districts and Farah City, the provincial capital, takes several hours.

Haji Ibrahim, a resident of Bakwa district, says: “The distance should take 45 minutes, but we have to travel for four hours to reach the city. The roads are damaged and we are forced to pay 450 afghanis in fare.”

He believes if the Bakwa road is constructed, the travel time will be considerably shortened for passengers bound for Gulistan and Delaram districts.

Ali Ahmad, who hails from Jawin district, also lamented the lousy condition of local roads. In particular, he says, it is extremely difficult to transport patients to healthcare centres in time.

He grumbled: “Our road is in a dreadful state and we don’t have an adequate hospital in the district either. We have no choice but to drive our patients along this broken road to the city. If the road were repaired, we could get there in 30 minutes — but currently, it takes three hours. We urge the authorities to take action.”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Wazir, a driver from the Diwal Surkh village of Khak-i-Safid district, said vehicles frequently broke down due to the bumpy condition of the district road.

“Farah is a largely agricultural province. If our roads are constructed, we will be able to easily bring our produce to the market,” Wazir pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works acknowledged that the condition of most district roads remained unsatisfactory.

Eng. Sher Ahmad Nasri, an official of the department, told Pajhwok Afghan News under a five-year development plan, 110 kilometres of road would be built in Bakwa district.

This route would pass through Gulistan and Parchaman, linking the Delaram district of northwestern Nimroz with Ghor in the east.

He said construction work was underway on a separate 120-kilometre road from the Afghanistan-Iran border to Farah City.

This project was initiated by the Iranian government, with 64 kilometres having been constructed during the previous administration. Upon completion, it will link Qala-i-Kah district with the provincial capital.

According to Nasri, in recent months, 130 kilometres of roads in various districts have been gravelled in an effort to improve regional connectivity.

kk/mud