Panjshir PRT restores canal, drinking water

PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team’s civil affairs team checked progress on a cement canal they are helping rebuild in Dehe Kalan Village in Shutol District, Afghanistan, June 1.

High spring flooding damaged the canal last year.

“The canal helped provide more than 200 families in four villages with irrigation and drinking water,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua O’Keefe, Panjshir PRT civil affairs team sergeant and Athens, Mich., native. “Many of the families were going to relocate due to the fact they would have no water for their spring crops.”

The PRT civil affairs team learned of the damaged canal when they were checking the quality of other projects in Shutol District in December.

“The district governor ended up asking if we could help fund fixing the canal, since so many families were without water,” said O’Keefe. “After identifying the problem areas, we were able to support it with bulk funds.”

The PRT delivered cement and supplies in January, but the cement could not be poured due to the weather conditions and temperatures.

“This section of the district became a priority,” said Shutol District Sector Director Gulabuddin, through an interpreter. “These villages are so far from the main road and river, they were out of water for quite some time. We needed to get the canal fixed as soon as possible.”

When the weather started to warm in early March, the villagers teamed together and used gabion baskets left over from previous district-led projects to build a foundation that would reach above where the spring water would rise.

“Before the foundation was built, the villagers used a wooden frame and sheet metal troughs that ran all the way to the villages,” said O’Keefe. “Though it leaked a lot, it was a temporary fix until the cement could properly be poured.”

When the Panjshir PRT civil affairs team visited Dehe Kalan Village again mid-spring, the project started taking shape.

“Many villagers would help out as often as they could,” said Gulabuddin. “They would gather the large rocks blocking the way of the canal and take them out. They, too, wanted the canal to be finished as quickly as possible.”

Though Shutol is the first district in the province, it sits far back from the main road that travels through Panjshir.

“This river affects so many families that are in this part of the district,” said Community Development Council member Zianlar Bostan, through an interpreter. “We are very happy that this canal is being built better than before. We hope it lasts a long time.”