Crops parched as major canal dries up in Helmand

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): Residents of Marja district in southern Helmand province complain their crops have parched due to lack of water in Baghra canal and they have no water to irrigate their farm fields.

Abdul Ali, a resident of Marja district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Baghra canal had dried up and there was no water to irrigate their crops. “If this situation continues, we may leave our ancestral lands and areas and move to other areas.”

Ahmad, a resident of the camp area of ​​the district, also said the canal water had dried up and there was no enough water to irrigate their crops. He said even 40-year-old fruit gardens had dried up this year due to lack of water.

Abdul Wali, a farmer, said he sowed corn on his fields this year, but due to lack of water, his crop dried up and he sold the grass to nomads.

“In the past, water was available abundantly and people continuously irrigated their crops, but this year the canal has dried up and people are facing numerous problems.”

He said people had dug 20 meters deep wells in the area, but the underground water had plummeted and the boreholes had dried up.

Helmand River Authority head Mohammad Yaqub Qaim acknowledged the problem of lack of water and said the water level in Kajaki dam had decreased and all power turbines were not active.

He said the water available in the Helmand River was equally distributed to all districts. “The water level in Kajaki dam has decreased, we have activated only one power turbine and we are supplying water to each district on their turn.”

Maulvi Mohammad Qasim Riaz, Deputy Director of Information and Culture, said rainfall was low last year and as a result drought increased.

The central government and the provincial administration were trying to provide work opportunities to the people and help them resolve their problems, he added.

He said: “The food for work program has been launched in some districts and we have talked to some charitable organizations to launch works in districts to help farmers become self-sufficient.”

The Baghra Canal that irrigates thousands of acres of land in Helmand province was built in 1950 during the time of former king Mohammad Zahir Shah.

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