DUSHANBE, April 22, 2010, Asia-Plus — 800 million U.S. dollars are needed for rehabilitation of river bank reinforcement works along the Surkhob and Yakhsou rivers, Minister of Land Reclamation and Water Resources Rahmat Bobokalonov remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on April 22.
According to him, it is unrealistic to find such an amount today, and therefore, there ought to carry out river-training work on the cheap in the summer period when water levels in rivers reduce.
On the river cleaning operations, he said that investors and partners have supported them that it is better to use investments for purchase of necessary equipment then spend them for cleaning one river or one lake. “If we have necessary equipment we will be able to carry out river cleaning operations every year by ourselves,” the minister said, stressing that the government and international financial institutions also seconded that initiative.
According to him, the ministry has decided to set up two mobile units provided with all necessary equipment (excavators, bulldozers, etc) to prevent serious natural disasters. “These units will be on duty in areas that are most prone to flooding and mudflows in order to prevent serious disasters,” Bobokalonov said.
Tajikistan is prone to frequent natural disasters because of its terrain and climate and floods are particularly severe disaster risks because of the mountainous nature of the country.
