Coalition forces install windmills in south

US-led coalition forces are installing windmills across southern Afghanistan to provide farmers with water 24 hours a day, a statement released from the Bagram airfield said on Thursday. “Windmills for the farmers provide an easy energy source to a rural area,” said army Lt Col Andrew Mazerik, a civil affairs officer with the Coalition’s Combined Joint Task Force-76. “There’s not a lot of maintenance needed for the windmills and this effort shows that the Afghan government is doing something for the people.” The windmills are constructed in the southern city of Kandahar by Afghans who work for an American construction company and purchased with the commander’s emergency relief programme funds at a cost of US $15,000 each, the statement read. Farmers can use them to power irrigation systems for crops such as soybeans and wheat, while avoiding the operating costs and maintenance problems of diesel-powered, mechanical generators. They also can share water with their neighbours. “An entire village can be supported by the windmill,” Mazerik noted. “It works on gravity and it depends on how big the holding tank is. A standard size windmill pumps 10 to 30 gallons per minute. It can supply a lot of water.” The first windmills in Helmand and Zabul provinces are expected to be operational within weeks. A total of 30 will be installed by spring, the US-led coalition forces said in the statement. The programme began with the installation of a test windmill at Kandahar airfield three months ago. Two windmills were installed in Uruzgan province shortly afterward. More recently, village elders in Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul provinces met with their governors and local provincial reconstruction team commanders to decide where other windmills could best be used, according to the statement. “They’re a positive reinforcement and a beautiful symbol,” Mazerik noted. The south and east of Afghanistan have long suffered from extreme drought conditions. The United Nations in September 2004, along with the Afghan government, appealed for $71 million to help 6.3 million drought-affected people.