Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” report that khyakims of etraps located in Lebap velayat of Turkmenistan have mobilized residents to clean up riverbeds, canals and water reservoirs.
Because of the lack of funding, equipment and specialists the irrigation system and the drainage water networks have dilapidated.
Over time the natural accumulation of silt causes riverbeds to become shallower, if sediment is not removed on a regular basis.This leads to soil salinization, a reduction in field crops and has a negative impact on farming.
Land tenants, senior graders from local schools and residents of villages and settlements along the banks of the river and canals are being mobilized in the cleaning campaign.
For refusal to take part in the cleaning campaign land tenants are threatened with their land being taken away, schoolchildren are threatened with low grades whereas public sector employees might face reprimands and terminations.
Residents of agricultural associations of Azatlyk, Vatan, Gushchylyk and Enish of Sayat etrap are cutting down plants and bushes located along canals with the help of spades.
The irrigation network must be cleaned up before the so-called “winter” water comes. In winter time the level of ground water decreases, i.e. there is little water in water reservoirs. If equipment is used, it significantly makes sediment removal easier.
Intrafarm and interfarm irrigation networks in the region stretch up along hundreds of kilometers.The khyakims ignore residents’ complaints who claim that it is impossible to clean up long canals and reservoirs manually and that their efforts will be wasted.
According to sources of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan”, the heads of the provinces need to demonstrate zealousness without asking any follow-up questions.
Meanwhile, on 8 December, 2020 the British manufacturer of construction equipment.in construction equipment JCB signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the State Water Management Committee of Turkmenistan for the supply of JCB equipment, the website Gov.uk reports.
According to the news outlet, the deal will potentially help the Turkmen government to effectively manage water use through the Karakum canal, one of the largest human-made canals in the world, and improve irrigation throughout the country.
In December 2019 the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Smart Waters program handed over a 170,000 USD dredger to clean sediment and silt from the Murghab River.
On 18 September, 2020 the USAID website published an article devoted to the objectives of the project.
The article says that the Murghab riverbed has not been dredged in a long time and over the past three decades the riverbed has risen by nearly three meters.
Additionally, the risk of flooding was exacerbated by changes in river flow due to climate change.Consequently, this has resulted in an increase in floods and agricultural losses.The post Residents of Lebap velayat mobilized to clean up riverbeds and water reservoirs first appeared on Chronicles of Turkmenistan.