Kazakhstan’& rsquo; s Deputy Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Aslan Abdraimov, has cautioned that the Qosh Tepa canal in Afghanistan could significantly reduce the circulation of the Syr Darya River, with direct effects for the currently diminished Aral Sea.He made the remarks at the recent international conference, Water Security and Transboundary Water Use: Challenges and Solutions, kept in Astana.“& ldquo; No sharp variations in water resources are expected in the near term, however in the long term, a reduction in the Syr Darya’& rsquo; s circulation is unavoidable,” & rdquo; Abdraimov specified.
He emphasized that this would even more strain the delicate water balance in the Aral Sea basin.Azamatkhan Amirtayev, chairman of Kazakhstan’& rsquo; s Baytak Party, expressed concern that the Qosh Tepa canal could divert 25-30% of the Amu Darya’& rsquo; s flow.
& ldquo; This implies that Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will get less water.
Consequently, Uzbekistan may draw more from the Syr Darya, resulting in decreased water accessibility for Kazakhstan, potentially by 30-40%,” & rdquo; Amirtayev said.
He urged for local cooperation and scientifically informed policymaking to reduce water losses.The Qosh Tepa canal is a canal being integrated in northern Afghanistan to divert water from the Amu Darya River.
The main canal is expected to be 285 km long and the general initiative seeks to convert 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland.Earlier, Uzbek authorities had actually also revealed issue about the building and construction of the Qosh Tepe canal in Afghanistan.However, the Islamic Emirate has assured Uzbekistan that it will not be damaged by the canal.
The post Kazakhstan reveals issue over building of Qosh Tepa canal in Afghanistan initially appeared on TINS News|Afghanistan News.