KABUL (BNA) Three new dams are being built in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in an effort to ease an acute water shortage as a result of years of drought.
The new dams are located in the province’s Shah Walikot and Spin Boldak districts, said Mullah Abdul Khaleq, a religious leader in the province.
The dam in Spin Boldak district is designed to store up to 2.3 million cubic meters of water and can be constructed at a cost of 35 million afghanis, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The other two dams are in the areas of Manda Kanda and Lawal Shah Walikot in the district of Shah Walikot.
Kandahar province is well known for its grapes and pomegranates, but their production has been badly affected by years of drought.
Local farmers have dug wells to irrigate their gardens and farmland, however, digging countless wells has led to further loss of underground water, causing more problems.
The new three dams are being built on a river in the mountainous area other than the Arghandab river, from which the only reservoir Dahla Dam supplying water for Kandahar, the largest city in Afghanistan’s south, fetches water.
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