SCA inaugurates a water supply project worth 82 million Afghanis in Takhar province
The pipe scheme project for 14 villages in Pasaband, Rustaq district inaugurated today by the Governor of Takhar Province and Dr. Ahmad Khalid Fahim, Programme Director/ Deputy Country Director of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan.
The construction of this pipe scheme project, which covers an area of 85 square kilometers, provides safe drinking water for 3,645 families in fourteen hard-to-reach villages of Rustaq district in Takhar province. Work on this project began in 2018 and the implementation cost 82 million Afghanis, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the people of Sweden (through fundraising), and the World Food Organization.
“The project is implemented by the SCA’s Rural Development Programme and completed in two years and six months,” said Engineer Hashmatullah Momand, head of the SCAs Rural Development Program in Taloqan. “The project uses solar power to transfer water from two 150-meter-deep wells to reservoirs built along the high hills of 14 villages where the beneficiaries can use the water in their homes.”
“This is the biggest project ever implemented in Takhar by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan and it is very important, and I appreciate SCA’s honest work,” said Abdullah Qarluq, Takhar’s Governor. He added, “that the people are asked to work hard to maintain this project and called on the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan to continue these important activities in other parts of Takhar province.”
Many families in the rural areas of the district had used the seasonal rainwater collected in local reservoirs and streams to wash clothes and do some other works, and it sometimes happened that some people had to drink this rainwater, which often resulted in infections such as diarrhea, sore throat, runny nose, and some other ailments that posed a serious threat to the children’s lives.
“In the beginning, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan did not have enough funds to implement this project, during a budget revision, we were able to allocate one hundred thousand dollars in the middle of the year to implement this project. Then we launched a special campaign in Sweden, through that campaign we received some more budget, as well as funds from SIDA. Eventually, we received 85.5 million Afghanis and I am very happy today I am in the inauguration ceremony of this great project.” said Dr. Ahmad Khalid Fahim, SCA’s Programme Director/Deputy Country Director.
He also shared the message of Mr. Daniel Madhani, SCA’s Country Director.
The village of Bakhmal Basi and the 13 adjacent villages, where the water scheme project has been implemented, is located 13 kilometers far from the district center. It is a completely mountainous and hard-to-reach area.
The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan is committed to an Afghanistan free from poverty, violence, and discrimination, it has always tried to give the government and the people a hand by providing safe drinking water, constructing schools, providing scientific resource centers, and rehabilitating people with disabilities across the country. Thereby, SCA is helping to eliminate poverty and improve the lives of people, especially those living in rural areas.