'Thank you India,' say delighted Afghans as Salma dam nears completion

KabulNew Delhi Indias major reconstruction project in Afghanistan the Salma Dam is nearing completion and water has started filling up its reservoirs delighting Afghan residents in the western Herat province where it is locatedOn Tuesday grateful residents of the area went to the Indian consulate there to express gratitude to the Indian officials for the key role played by the country in the reconstruction of AfghanistanMany Afghans expressed thanks on Twitter to India for its reconstruction helpLocal musicians sang Indian songs including Bollywood number Yamma Yamma and also presented flowers to workers of the consulateIndia is spending 300 million on the dam project expected to produce 42 MW of electricity and water nearly 80000 hectares of farmlandThe reservoir which is 20 km in length and 3 km in width started filling up last month and is expected to be completed in around 912 monthsMustafa Kazemi tweeted The Salma Dam generously reconstructed by India after decades is capable to produce 42 KW of power by 3 turbines Thank you IndiaSalma Dam in Herat built by India after decades will keep 640 million cubic meters of water for 3 turbines Big thanks AmarSinha13 for this he tweeted referring to Indian ambassador in Afghanistan Amar SinhaOn July 28 when water started filling up the reservoir people took out joyful processions beating traditional drumsMaiwand Afghan tweeted Thank you India for completing Salma dam the people of Afghanistan appreciate your work Jai IndiaThe reconstruction of Salma dam started during the tenure of Sardar Mohammad Dawoud Khan decades ago but the project was halted because of the war in the countryThe project was restarted in 2005 and is scheduled to be completed in 2016The hydroelectric and irrigation project is being constructed on the Hari Rud river in Chiste Sharif districtIt is the flagship infrastructural project of Indias developmental assistance programme to AfghanistanThe project includes construction of a 1075metrehigh and 550metrelong rockfilled dam and other typical components of the hydroelectric power project such as spillways powerhouse switchyard and transmission lineThe dam is of immense importance to Afghanistan and will be greatly beneficial in solving the issue of electricity generation in the countryThe dam construction faced some tough timesAccording to a statement by the Consul General of India in Herat the dam faced many logistical constraints and security challenges contributing to a delay of many yearsSalma dam was initially built in 1976 on the Hari river basin but was damaged during the war in AfghanistanThe rebuilding of the dam was first started by an Indian company WAPCOS Ltd in 1988 but the project was left incomplete for a significant period of time due to the instability caused by the warIn 2006 India committed to funding the completion of the dam at an estimated cost of 200 millionAfghanistans Chief Executive Officer CEO Abdullah Abdullah last week expressed satisfaction with the completion of parts of the longawaited damThe dam he hoped would help resolve the problem of shortage of energy and power besides strengthening the agriculture sector in the western zoneEarlier Indias Consul General Amit Kumar Mishra said the project passed a critical stage on July 26 with the closure of the diversion tunnel gate and the start of filling of the reservoirIndias assistance programme in Afghanistan stands at around 2 billion making India the fifth largest bilateral donorThe new Rs710crore Afghan parliament building being financed and built by India is also nearing completionThe construction of the parliament building started in 2009 by Indias Central Public Works Department has however missed its deadline by three yearsIndias Border Roads Organisation BRO is building the 218km Rs600crore ZaranjDelaram road in southwestern Afghanistan that would link up to Irans Chahbahar Port and link the Afghan cities of Herat Kandahar Kabul and MazareSharifIt will allow India access to the landlocked Central Asian countries that border AfghanistanIndia signed an agreement with Iran to develop Chahbahar Port in May 2015