Paktia residents urge completion of Machalgho dam project

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): A number of residents of southeastern Paktia urge the caretaker government to resume work on incomplete Machalgho dam project.
Haji Omar Gul, a tribal elder of Ahmadaba district told Pajhwok Afghan News that the security was ensured in the country and government should resume and complete the remaining work of the Machalgo dam.
“Machalgho dam is a vital project for Paktia province and the people have repeatedly asked the government for resumption of its construction work in the past and currently,” he added.
Azizullah, a resident of Gardez city, said the construction work of Machalgo dam had started almost 10 years ago but due to various reasons its construction work had come to a halt.
He said that the security was stable currently and the government should resume the work of this huge project. Completion of the dam in Ahmadaba district will help generate hundreds of megawatts of electricity and irrigate vast tracts of barren land.
Qazi Sawab Jan Islamyar, director of information and culture, told Pajhwok: “The construction of Machalgho and other small dams is their priority.” He said the governor and other officials visited the dam two days ago and assess the work of the project.
Few days ago, the Acting Minister of Water and Energy Abdul Latif Mansour traveled to Paktia where he said that the construction of Machalgho dam was the caretaker government’s priority.
He said the completion of the remaining works of the dam was the ministry’s priority. The Machalgho Dam is one of the vital projects in Paktia, with its works construction completion the dam will be able to irrigate 2,300 hectares of farmland and will 800 kilowatts of electricity.