MRRD Brings Clean Drinking Water to a remote District of Jawzjan Province

SHEBARGHAN – 16 September 2007,

Mohammad Ehsan Zia, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), inaugurated a clean drinking water supply network in the district of Khwaja Dukoh of Jawzjan province – costing the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) of the Ministry 12,036 343 Afs.

MRRD is committed to provide clean drinking water to the rural villages and as a rural development minister; “I am very pleased to turn on this important network and I am sure this will certainly help in reducing water born diseases”, said Minister Zia.

The pipe scheme of the network is 21 km long and its tank can hold more than two thousand liter water at a time – covering 2002 households in six villages.[1]

During today’s visit to the province, Minister Zia met with a local Shura - a council of elders - to discuss the projects. Elders confirmed the link between health and clean drinking water.

“Our people used to drink salty water from the irrigation canal that comes all the way from the province of Sari-Pul and our villages were infested with water born diseases”, said Sadiq Munshi. “Now that we have a clean drinking water network in place, I am sure water born diseases will eventually become rare”.

“We feel very proud today and it is all due to the National Solidarity Programme of MRRD” declared another head of Shura. “We are grateful to MRRD for funding the network”.

In colaboration wih the Food for Work programme of WFP, in Jawzjan province, MRRD has constructed 200 km road, cleaned 510 km canal,  constructed 18 km of retaining wall in Amu and Aqcha rivers as well as cleaned 94 water reservoirs – creating short term employment for 30,000 people.

Through its Rural Water Sanitation programme MRRD  has dug 709 deep wells in 10 districts of Jawazjan. It has also constructed 650 latrines - benefiting thousands of people. And through its Rural Access Programme, the ministry has constructed 128.5 km road throughout the province.

Similarly, the National Area Based Deevelopment Programme of MRRD has constructed 10 guest houses in each of the districts and has constructed 3 water distribution reservoirs between the Safid  river and Khwaja Duko Nehr.