A number of residents of Uruzgan province say that the Taliban began construction of the Aghajan Dam in the province’s Chenartu district two years ago, stating at the time that the dam would have a storage capacity of more than 70 million cubic meters of water and would irrigate more than 100,000 hectares of land. However, no practical construction work has begun to date. The dam’s groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy economic prime minister of the Taliban administration, along with a number of other officials from the group.
Faizullah Ziyarmal, a resident of Tarinkot, says that the Taliban actually began detailed design work and feasibility studies for the dam on the first day, but the process was halted after some time and has not resumed since.
Holding a photograph of the Taliban’s groundbreaking ceremony for the dam, Ziyarmal says: “If you look at this photo, anyone can understand how important this dam is and how interested people are in its construction.”
This Uruzgan resident says: “Our entire livelihood depends on water. Now you can see that water is drying up across the province, and people face growing problems in this regard every day. If you ask anyone here, they will tell you that the only solution is the construction of the Aghajan Dam. Until this project is completed, we will continue struggling with these problems, and drought will keep worsening in our region.”
Nasibullah Saadat, a resident of Tarinkot city, says that this year’s drought has worsened compared to the past two years, and a large number of people’s orchards have dried up. He says people have been waiting for about 40 years for the construction of such a dam on the Tarinkot River, since its construction would irrigate thousands of Kilometers of agricultural land.
This Tarinkot resident adds that the dam is of vital importance to the people of Uruzgan, particularly farmers, and that if the project is carried out, the shortage of water for agricultural land in the province will be reduced.
Saadat says: “In the past, people used to cultivate 4 hectares of land, but this year they have not even been able to cultivate half of that, because there is no water. People face enormous problems when it comes to water. The government must help these people and create a water supply system for them.”
At the same time, experts and engineers in the water sector also consider the Aghajan Dam in Uruzgan important and say the Taliban should prioritize its construction.
Samiullah Haqmal, one of the water sector engineers, says the current drought is worrying, and the only way to prevent this problem is the construction of water dams. He adds that if dams are built, even a small amount of rainfall could still produce a prosperous year.
Haqmal says: “God has instructed us to harness the water that comes from rainfall. If dams are built, we will once again have a prosperous year. Only dams can provide a solution to the current drought crisis. It is necessary for the Taliban to properly construct the Aghajan Dam for the people of Uruzgan.
Meanwhile, sources in Uruzgan say that if the Taliban properly implement this project, the natural flow of water in the Tarinkot River, which currently flows into the Helmand River and from there reaches Iran, would be harnessed, preventing the transfer of part of this water to Iran.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned in its latest assessment that a severe shortage of irrigation water and rising prices of agricultural fertilizers have become major challenges facing farmers in Afghanistan.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
باشندهگان ارزگان: بند آغاجان دو سال پس از افتتاح هنوز کارش آغاز نشده است
