Afghan-India Friendship Dam again brings relief to farmers in water-starved Herat

New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Afghanistan administration releasing water from the Afghan-India Friendship Dam, locally called Salma Dam, into the Harirud river this week has brought relief for Herat’s farmers facing drought-like conditions, say reports.

The then President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India had jointly inaugurated the dam on June 4, 2016, at Chist-e-Sharif of Herat province in Western Afghanistan.

It is a multipurpose project planned for generating 42 MW of power, irrigating 75,000 hectares of land, water supply and other benefits to the people of Afghanistan.

With a storage capacity of about 633 million cubic metres of water, the Salma Dam stands 104.3 m high, with a length of 540 m and the width at the bottom being 450 m.

In a landmark infrastructure development undertaken by New Delhi, the project was executed and implemented by WAPCOS Ltd., a Government of India undertaking under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

The successful completion of the project represents culmination of years of hard work by some 1,500 Indian and Afghan professionals under challenging conditions.

There have been skirmishes in and around the dam site even after its completion, where about four years back, armed militia tried to strike under the cover of darkness.

However, security forces had successfully repelled the attack. Thus, due to security reasons, Indian engineers and technicians working on the project had to reach the site by helicopter, a service provided by Kabul.

All equipment and material were shipped from India to Iran’s Bander-e-Abbas port, from where these were transported by road to the Afghanistan border some 1,200 kms away.

Beyond the Islam Kila border post, the actual site lay another 300 kms by road. Meanwhile, other requirements for its construction, like cement, reinforced steel, explosives, etc., were sourced from Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries.

The Rs.1,775 crore project was funded by the Government of India and took more than a decade to complete.

In an official briefing in end-October, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had highlighted its ongoing cooperation with Afghanistan on water matters, calling the Salma Dam a “perfect example” of this long-lasting partnership between the two nations.

Recalling Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi’s India visit earlier that month, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the joint statement mentioned India’s readiness to support Afghanistan’s efforts towards sustainable management of water resources including hydro-electric projects.

Water stored at the dam is released into the Harirud River for a 20-day period to support autumn farming in Herat, considering the province suffers from drought due to a lack of rainfall, leading to severe problems for farmers.

Last year too, around the same time, water from the Salma Dam was released to help farmers begin seasonal planting in eight districts along the Harirud River.

“At this time of the year, farmers in Herat use this water for autumn planting. After this phase (about 20 days), the dam is closed and water is stored until spring, when it is again released as needed,” head of Water Users’ Association in Herat Ghulam Habib Hashimi, told Tolo News on Tuesday.

The seasonal release from Salma Dam is considered a vital step for agriculture in Herat, where this water is seen as the life source for improving farming and increasing crop yields in a province facing perennial drought.

–IANS

jb/rad