Kabul mayor says water supply in city could ‘dry up’

KABUL (Agencies): After decades of conflict, climate change and poor water management, Afghanistan’s capital is facing a dire water shortage. The shortage is becoming a bigger problem with every passing day, and has authorities worried.
“There is concern that the city could literally dry up,” Kabul mayor Hamdullah Nomani told Reuters. Nomani said the government was planning to speak to companies that supply drinking water to solve the shortage. Recently, authorities have had to ferry water to Kabul “from far flung areas at a very heavy cost”.
Dozens of people, mostly children, could be seen waiting to fill up containers with water from a well at a local mosque in Kabul. “Sometimes we wait with our buckets but our turn does not come. On some days, we go home with filled buckets, but sometimes we go with empty buckets. It is very difficult,” said Taj Mohiullah, who walks long distances just to get a bucket of water. According to USAID, just 42% of Afghans have access to safe drinking water and around 27% of the rural population have access to sanitation facilities. According to the World Food Programme (WFP) if access to water is not taken seriously, the likelihood of a vast famine will increase with the passing of time.