Drought put lives of many Afghans at risk: MPs

Parliament on Sunday summoned deputy ministers of Agriculture and Energy & Water as well as minister of Rural Rehabilitation & Development over the issue of drought which has already affected 20 provinces in the country.

The MPs said that drought has put lives of many people at risk and that the government has not taken effective measures to tackle the issue in the country.

“Drought has affected 20 provinces. People don’t have water and facing a major problem,” said MP Mohammad Hashim Mehdi. “People in Kabul were expecting the water dams like Shahtoot and Shah wa Arous to be constructed, but they are not built yet.”

“Unfortunately, the government plans don’t meet the demands of people. The ministries acted poorly in implementing the [water supply] projects. In villages, most of the aqueducts have been dried up, people don’t have access to drinking water and therefore, they have been displaced,” said MP Khalilullah Shahidzada.

More and more

OCHA: Drought grips Afghanistan, affecting over two million people

More than two million Afghans at risk of becoming severely food insecure due to the ongoing drought which affecting two-thirds of the country, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report released on Monday.

The report said that water points and fountains across the country have dried up and the lack of rain and snow melt has made rivers run low or dry up completely.

According to the report, due to the lack of water, farmers have chosen to minimize their losses by delaying planting crops and reducing field sizes.

The report said that lack of water also affected farmers with livestock and pastoralists like the nomadic Kuchi tribe as pasturelands have partially or completely dried up or are overgrazed, leaving flocks with little or no feed.

More and more

Drought сrisis: MPs summon Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation

The Members of Parliament at the Lower House have summoned the minister of agriculture, irrigation and the deputy minister of natural disaster management over the drought crisis that has hit most parts of the country.

The lawmakers declared that the government lacks proper solutions for the drought problem and people are facing serious threats of drought in the current year.

“The displaced people have many problems. Most of the displaced have come to Jawzjan from other provinces. They have no water and food. A barrel of drinking water is sold up to 1 to 2 thousand AFN,” Abdul Satar Darzabi, representative of Jawzjan said.

Fatima Aziz, representative of Kunduz asserted, “Drought threatens the northern provinces. The number of displaced people reaches to five thousand families who gathered in one place.”

In the meantime, the minister of agriculture and irrigation Nasir Ahmad Durani noted that addressing the drought problem needs more than $500 million and the ministry has its programs to control the drought.

More and more