The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Taliban authorities in Kandahar have begun construction of a check dam in the Mohammad Jan Agha Kariz area of Shah Wali Kot district at a cost of 4.8 million Afghanis, the Taliban-run provincial Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department said.
According to the department, Mullah Dost Mohammad Saeed, head of the Taliban-run Rural Rehabilitation and Development Department in Kandahar, said during the project’s inauguration ceremony that the check dam is being built to help mitigate the effects of drought.
He said the project would help improve water availability in surrounding areas and control runoff from nearby plains.
The department said the check dam will be 53 meters long and 5 meters high, with a storage capacity of about 36,000 cubic meters of water.
Check dams are built to control and store rainwater and flood runoff. In drought-prone areas, they can help support irrigation, replenish groundwater and sustain agricultural activities.
Kandahar is among the Afghan provinces affected by drought and water shortages. The construction of check dams and other water-management projects could help improve access to water for agriculture and livestock while increasing the storage of rainwater.
