18m afs irrigation dam inaugurated in Helmand

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): A newly-constructed dam with the capacity to irrigate 17,000 hectares of land has been put into service in southern Helmand province, officials said Sunday.

Mujahidullah Safari, the deputy provincial governor, who inaugurated the dam in Shamlan area of Nawa district,  the dam’s construction cost more than 18 million afghanis and took a year to complete. “This dam can benefit more than 66,000 families.”

“It is an aimportant dam, it will help many farmers find access to irrigation water as well as prevent waste of water,” he added.

Haji Abdul Bari, a tribal elder from Nawa district, said the dam would extensively resolve the water shortage issue in the area.

“There were many disputes over water in the past, but this problem would reduce with the inauguration of the dam,” he said.

Matiullah, a farmer in Nawa district, said that most people in the district were associated with farming and had been facing shortage of irrigation water.

He said the water shortage was mostly resolved with the dam’s construction but they still needed more facilities.

Nawa district is one of unstable districts of the province.

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