Residents of villages in the upper Vanj valley of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) have begun receiving electricity.
Abdullo Amonbekov, a spokesman for Pamir Energy Company, says the small hydroelectric power plant “Tekharv” with capacity of 400 kW, located in the Vanj district, has begun generating electricity after major repairs.
“This has allowed us to provide with electricity more than 600 households in the upper Vanj valley,” Amonbekov noted.
During the past winter season, Pamir Energy Company also completed rehabilitation of the small hydropower plant “Andarbak” with capacity of 350 kW, which is located in the Yazgulem jamoat of the Vanj district.
“Tekharv” and “Andarbak” power plants were reportedly damaged by mudflows in summer 2015.
The spokesman further added that construction of the small power plant “Motravn” with capacity of 300 kW was nearing completion in the Yazgulem jamoat.
The “Motravn” power plant is being constructed within the framework of financial cooperation between the governments of Tajikistan and South Korea. The power plant is expected to be introduced into operation in late March.
Recall, the Tsentr-1 (Center-1) website reported on March 6 that residents of remote villages in the Pamirs who have been cut off from the outer world for more than a month have cleared 12 kilometers of road of snow manually.
Three villages in the Vanj district – Poi Mazor, Vanv and Sungad – have been cut off from the outer world since January 28. Snow blankets have been as much as more than two and half meters in this region.
One tractor has been sent from the administrative center of the Vanj district to the Poi Mazor village for clearing the road of snow but it broke down on the way to the village. As a result, residents of the Poi Mazor village (700 people live in this village) have been forced to clear 12 kilometers of road with spades.
Resident of the Poi Mazor village, Khilvatsho Mahmoudov, says they did not receive any assistance from Committee on Emergency Situations (CES) and other government agencies.
Residents of the mentioned villages were fortunate to have electricity due to the mini power plant constructed by residents of the villages under financial support of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), according to Tsentr-1.
This year’s snowfalls were reportedly Gorno Badakhshan’s heaviest over the past 70 years.
