The Hasht-e Subh Daily recently reported that the underground market project in Ghazni city, which the Taliban were to build for 400 million Afghanis, has been halted because of gushing springs and the collapse of excavation site walls toward neighboring commercial markets. Since the report was published, the Taliban municipality has tried to show, through staged activity, that work in the area is continuing. It has done so by running publicity campaigns through pseudonymous social media accounts and pressuring local media.
Sources say that after the Hasht-e Subh Daily report was published, the Taliban municipality summoned contractor companies and had the springs covered with dozens of truckloads of soil. According to the sources, mounds of earth have also been created near the collapsed walls at the excavation site, and photos of them have been shared on social media pages.
The findings of this report show that construction on the project is currently divided into two parts. According to the findings, one part, located on the Farrokhi intersection side, has been used by the Taliban municipality for taking photos and filming so that the failure to advance the project remains hidden. The other part, located near the Khatam al-Mursalin Mosque and the Kolah Sabz intersection, is facing the gushing of several springs, and work there has come to a complete halt.
Sardar, a resident of Ghazni, says: “I myself am a witness to the gushing of the springs and the complete halt of the underground Kolah Sabz market project. The deadlock continues. Every day, more of the excavation walls collapse toward the neighboring sidewalks and shops, and the water pumps continue to work day and night to draw the water out from the bottom of the pit. There is no sign of real progress on the project.”
Ahmad (pseudonym), another resident of Ghazni, says: “Without passing judgment on what I have seen on social media and television, I am telling you what I have seen with my own eyes, and I leave the judgment to the people. Anyone who says that work is ongoing and there is no problem should come and go once to the excavated site in the northern part of this market, near the Khatam al-Mursalin Mosque, or look from above, to see how many springs there really are here and where the water is drawn out from at night.” He adds: “The sun cannot be hidden behind two fingers. No matter how much the Taliban advertise and try to cover the springs by pouring soil over them, they cannot blind the eyes of the people.”
Nearly four months ago, the Taliban municipality in Ghazni announced the start of construction of an underground commercial market in the Kolah Sabz area, in the most central part of Ghazni city. This institution, controlled by the Taliban, had announced that the market would be built on two underground floors. However, local sources have confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that during excavation of the land for the market, at a depth of six meters, springs gushed from several points, and the continuation of the project has reached a deadlock.
Sources had earlier said that after the soil was removed from the area and the water gushed out, the walls of the excavated site for the underground market tilted toward the commercial markets on both sides, and there is a possibility that these buildings will subside.
According to the sources, this Taliban project has effectively come to a halt, and the danger of the surrounding structures collapsing is serious. Nevertheless, the Taliban have so far not found any technical and lasting solution to this problem.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
توقف کار بازار زیرزمینی غزنی؛ نمایش رسانهای طالبان بنبست عملی پروژه را پنهان نمیکند
