NIMROZ:  Residents of southwestern Nimroz province call on the Afghan government and the Taliban to declare a ceasefire and pave the way for the success of intra-Afghan peace talks, hoping an end to the war would facilitate progress in infrastructural projects.

Zmarali Ahadi Governor of Nimroz province, accompanied by residents and government officials, inspected the Kamal Khan Dam’s construction work on Friday. Residents of Nimroz, who attended a gathering on the sidelines, said they wanted the government and the Taliban to push for a ceasefire and successful peace talks as soon as possible.

“If conflicts cease, we will start working on establishing orchards around the Dam to boost the country’s agriculture, as well as reduce unemployment.”

Governor Zmarali Ahadi described the Kamal Khan Dam as a worthwhile and national project across the country, saying reconstruction of Kamal Khan Dam was the wish of all Afghans.

He expressed gratitude to the Afghan President for turning the Afghan people’s hopes into reality by harnessing the Dam’s water. 

Meanwhile, a resident of the province, Safar Mohammad Noorzad, who expressed happiness about the Dam, noted that besides the Dam’s restoration, peace was a precondition for progress and viable resource utilization.

The Kamal Khan Dam is located in the Charbarjak district, 95 kilometers away from Nimroz’s Zaranj city, which generates seven to nine megawatts of electricity, stores millions of cubic meters of water and irrigates about 180 hectares of land.

Work on the Dam’s third phase, which began in April 2017, is almost complete, and it’s scheduled to be officially inaugurated soon. As Kamal Khan Dam is going into full operation, the people of the provinces around Nimroz are flocking to oversee the border province for agribusiness possibilities.