Kunduz city road projects create jobs, ease life for commuters

KUNDUZ -- Kunduz city commuters will be able to reach work and school without wading through the dust in summer and mud in winter, once four new road projects that kicked off last month are completed.

As an additional benefit to the city, the projects, initiated at the request of Kunduz city residents with more than $230,000 in United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) funding, will provide more than 10,000 local jobs.

Construction work commenced on four projects in different parts of Kunduz city on March 21, Kunduz mayor Gul Mohammad Ilyas told Salaam Times.

Worn-out roads will be repaired and rehabilitated, side streets paved, gravel roads constructed and drainage channels cleaned, he said, in projects that "will take two to four months to complete" and will ease commutes.

"Implementation of these projects has created work for more than 10,000 unemployed," he said, noting that in addition to receiving payment for their work, they are contributing to the development of their communities.

Work will focus on "Mawlawi Sarajuddin Shahid street, Sar Hawa street in district 4 and on the street adjacent to Bibi Ayesha Sediqa school in district 3", Ilyas said.

Construction and rehabilitation work also is beginning on Kart-e-Hilal street and in Sayed Naeem Askar and some areas in Sar Dawra neighbourhood in district 5, he said.

Improving mobility

Kunduz residents and those employed to work on the city road projects told Salaam Times they welcomed the initiative.

Kunduz city first district resident Saifuddin, 47, who goes by his first name, said he is happy that the area's transportation problems are being addressed.

"Our street is almost 1km long," he said. "It was unpaved, with large potholes, and trucks used to get stuck for days in mud in winter."

"People could not even walk in the street to go to the city in the winter because of potholes and the dilapidated condition," he said.

Naveed Ahmad, 35, who also resides in Kunduz city's first district, said the street he lives on was in poor condition before but that the new pavement will solve many problems.

Commuting will become easier for everyone with the completion of the road project, he said, noting that schoolchildren will now be able to walk to class "without their clothes and shoes getting muddy".

Local jobs

In addition to creating jobs and improving local transportation, the construction projects have created a viable alternative to the illegal migration of youth to neighbouring countries, some Kunduz residents said.

Faced with difficult circumstances, many young men have left the country in search of work, rather than face unemployment at home, said Kunduz city district 3 resident Rahimullah, 33, who goes by his first name.

"Unfortunately, most of our young men who have gone to Iran and Pakistan for work face numerous problems and discrimination from the governments of those countries, especially in Iran," he said.

"If more such projects are implemented by aid agencies, the youth will never leave their homes," said Rahimullah, who is working on the Sar Hawz street project in district 3.

"I call on all the youth that instead of going to neighbouring countries for labouring jobs, they should expend their energy in our own country," he said. "That will help build their own country, and their dignity will be preserved."

Kunduz city first district resident Jumauddin Nazari, 43, said all of the residents of this area, including himself, are participating in the project.

"We requested the reconstruction of Kart-e-Hilal street, where hundreds of households live," he said. "Commuting on that street was very difficult in the past because of dust in the summer and mud in the winter."

"We could not even go to the mosque to pray," Nazari said, adding that residents are happy that work has begun to pave the street.

"Most streets inside the city are dilapidated and need serious reconstruction," he added.

"I hope that aid agencies pay serious attention to the reconstruction and renovation of the ring roads inside the city so that residents can live in convenience."