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KABUL (SW): When I heard the news about the construction of Dasht-e Barchi roads, I went to Rigrishan area to see it myself. In general, Dasht-e Barchi is lacking city planning; therefore, most of its streets are earthy (unpaved). Residents suffer from dusts in the spring and from mud in the winter.
But this time the residents of these areas have decided to concrete all streets and lanes with the support of UN Habitat and Kabul Municipality. When I went to the area to prepare a report, I encountered the clean and indexed streets, the fronts of most of the houses and shops were watered to get rid of dust.
After a little search I found Mr. Anwar Joya the Rigish Area Council. Mr. Joya said that at first the streets were inspected by 13 district municipality and area councils and the results were shared with the donor organizations and residents, though the decision was made that 25 percent of the budget will be provided by residents and 75 percent will be provided by UN Habit.
According to Mr. Joya, the work on the streets has been started for two years and will be completed in the near future.
It is decided that all the streets will be labeled with street signs and lights will be installed on each house. This project has been developed with the cooperation and support of 15 local councils. Each council covers 250 to 300 homes.
I passed the construction sites and the workers were busy working and the noise of concrete mixxer was loud enough to hide our voices. Jalil Rezayee, one of the local residents was standing in a corner and watching the workers. I talked to him and he said since the cement work on his street is done, the residents commute easily and the dusts no longer seems to exist.
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Rezayee with satisfaction said that he has been able to contribute to the reconstruction of his street by paying only 4000 Afghanis. However, he is quibbling that in some places negligence is taken and hence some streets are not properly cemented.
I said goodbye to Rezayee and met another resident, Mr. Mohammad Mousa Fazili. Mr. Fazili said before the cement of the streets if one of his family members got sick, it was difficult to take the patient to the hospital.
Mr. Fazili, with the satisfaction feelings on his face, said that despite the fact that many of the residents of the area are poor, they have done much for the construction of the streets of their area and have not failed to pay their financial contribution.
According to some of the residents, reconstruction of streets and installation of lights have made it possible to provide security for the Rigrishan area and hence has increased the sense of responsibility of the residents of the area.
To ask about the importance of the role of the people in improving their neighborhoods, I went to talk to Mr. Jalil Soltani, spokesperson for Kabul Municipality. Mr. Soltani said that the institution is trying to consider citizen’s responsibility as a principle in the improvement plans.
According to Mr. Soltani, the people’s cooperation with the government has led to the implementation of well-designed projects without any shortcomings.
The officials of Kabul Municipality said that they are always connected with district councils to find out the problems of citizens and by dialogue with them they can prioritize the needs of the citizens and prepare plans to solve their issues.
ENDS
