Cleaning Streams

 Written by: Muzamil Shah  Watandost

Most Afghan villagers make their living from land crops and land needs to be irrigated by stream water. Sometimes trash and other pollution accumulate in streams and need to be cleaned up otherwise this issue might cause some problems to the landowners.

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some gardeners and landowners about this issue.

 A peasant, Sardar Agha, a resident of Bagrami district, Kabul province says, “If the streams are not cleaned, the water cannot reach to the land or the garden in the specific time and this issue might cause problems to other peasants and gardeners too. The water might change its passage to their land or gardens without their presence.”

Rohullah Hotak, another resident of Bagrami district says, “We have less water for irrigation and all the peasants and gardeners have their turn in water distribution. If the stream is blocked, water cannot reach the land or garden and it might reach someone else’s garden or land and the crops might dry up due to the lack of water.”

Why do some peasants and gardeners think about the blocking of water in streams?

Sardar Agha says, “It’s not the job of single peasant pay attention to the streams. Some people drop extra constructive materials or house pollution into the stream and this issue causes the blocking of water in the streams.”

Rohullah Hotak says, “In the beginning, people were cleaning streams with collective works but in these days they are facing economic problems and do not have time to take part in collective works.”

How do some people keep clean the streams from pollution?

 Kashmir Sayedi, a resident of Katal village, Alinigar district, Laghman province says, “If any of streams are needed to be cleaned, we share the issue with Mullah in the Masjid and he wants the villagers to arrange a collective work and clean the stream from pollutions. If anyone does not want to take part in the collective work, he pays a worker to work instead of him.”.

Ahmad Yaqub, a resident of Paghman district, Kabul province says, “Clean streams help water to flow without any obstruction to the land or garden. We regularly clean the streams at the beginning of the spring by collective work.”