Snow lashes Kandahar for 1st time in 30 years

KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): The southern province of Kandahar was lashed by snow for the first time in three decades on the night between Sunday and Monday, raising hopes among farmers and orchard owners for adequate water availability.

Provincial agriculture officials said some areas received up to 10 centimetres of snow, calling it good news for farmers.

An orchard owner in Maiwand district, Haji Fazl Mohammad, said the snow followed heavy rains that lasted some days.

It had been snowing until morning, said the 50-year-old, who added it was for the first time he had seen snowfall in Kandahar in 30 years. Kandahar is among warm provinces.

Mohammad said the snowfall raised hopes among residents that there would be enough water to irrigate crops.

A resident of Azam Qala in Daman district, Haji Abdul Samad, said snow hit the town after days of raining.

He said farmers had sowed wheat crop on raid-fed lands and the snowfall would benefit the crop because the fields would remain wet for several days to help seeds germinate fast.

Kuchi families also expressed happiness over the snowfall, saying though it would aggravate problems for them while living in tents, yet they were happy.

A nomad, Abdul Samad Kuchi, who lives in the Shorandam area of Kandahar City, said snowfalls benefitted the most mountains and deserts, where they grazed herds. He said they suffered a lot due the prolonged drought spell which came to an end.

Kandahar Agriculture Director Ahmad Shah Roshan said if rains and snowfall continued, the effects of drought spell would vanquish.

He said rains and snow had also lashed neighbouring Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan provinces.

He said in some districts of Kandahar, up to 10 centimetres of snow was measured, but it was only three centimeters in Kandahar City.

He said before the snowing, 45cm of rains had been recorded in Kandahar.

In Helmand, snow hit many districts for the first time in at least 15 years.  A Nawa district resident Mohammad Omar said the snow ended fear of another drought spell.

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