Hundreds of youth work in Herat’s Karokh coalmine

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): The coalmine in Karokh district of western Herat province has officially been inaugurated and about 4,000 tons of coal will be extracted from it on a monthly basis.

Maulvi Fazal Ahmad Munib Khamosh, Herat director of mines and petroleum, told Pajhwok Afghan News that hundreds of youth worked in the coalmine, one of the famous mines in the province.

He said approximately 4,000 tons of coal was being extracted from the mine per month.

Ramazan Jameh, in charge of the loading process of the coalmine, told Pajhwok that 250 individuals were involved in the extraction works.

He said each worker was paid 400 to 800 afghanis on a daily basis for digging and extracting coal.

He added currently 40 percent of coal from Herat province was exported to Pakistan through Kandahar province and 60 percent was consumed within the province.

Mohammad, one of the miners, said he extracted three tons of coal on a daily basis and was paid 500 afghanis.

He said the wage he received was not enough to meet his daily expenses.

Eng. Sayed Imran, an expert who has worked for 15 years in the sector, told Pajhwok that mostly youth were hired to work in coalmines.

Besides the youth, he said, many truck drivers also found work opportunities to earn income.

Ghulam Yahya, a truck driver, said he charged 700 afghanis per ton. He said he was transferring five tons of coal to the city and he was happy with his work.

Abdul Hanan Rahmani, an official of the mines and petroleum department, said about 15 vehicles were loaded with coal on a daily basis to transfer it to the city.

Rahmani added each vehicle was weighted in the scale and 1,700 afghanis was changed as duty per ton.

He informed about 28 different mines existed in the province but only three of them were being developed.

sa/ma