There are various types of developments that are believed to be essential for the people of a country in the modern world. As a result of these developments the people are able to make their lives comfortable. And within a country, the government bears the responsibility to make these developments attainable. In the modern and developed countries, where the governments are very capable and agile, the developments are very frequent and take place as per the needs of the people, whereas in the underdeveloped and developing countries such developments are scanty.
One of the developments that are believed to be very much important for modern way of living is the construction and maintenance of roads. Through roads it is possible to link different parts of the country and, at the same time, different parts of a village or city. This connection makes every part of the country easily accessible and resultantly supports the people in making their lives easier. Without proper networks of roads it is impossible to think of efficient and effective transportation. The networks of roads basically provide an infrastructure for different other types of developments that are necessary for a country.
Business is one of the factors that are highly dependent on well-maintained roads. The production companies have to transfer their products to different parts of the country and city, which is impossible without roads. The timely transfer of their products does not only bring them money but also assists the customers in fulfilling their needs on time. It is not always possible for all the businesses to transfer their products from one place to another through airplane, therefore the roads provide them an easier and cheaper means of transportation. Moreover, the businessmen and other official personnel have to travel to different countries and even different parts of the country usually; therefore, they would need the support of an effective transportation system equipped with healthy roads.
The roads are also very much useful in providing the people and making them avail the humanitarian services as well. It is very difficult to provide different types of services to the people who live in the remote areas of the country. They, because of no access to development works, are always far away from medical services, proper education, clean drinking water, electricity and even proper food to eat. As there are no roads that lead to them, they always suffer from dearth of basic requirements and government is not able to reach them and even know about them.
The roads are also very much necessary for bringing about beauty to a place and support people to have safe recreational journeys. It is really weird and unpleasant to find the roads that are broken and dusty. Moreover, the ugliness further increases in such roads when there is rain or overflow of drain water. Such conditions can cause different types of diseases as the drain water may remain on the roads for days and invite mosquitoes and other insects. In addition, the drain water, containing different types of bacteria, dries on the road and afterwards is blown in the air by passing vehicles and wind and becomes the stuff the people breath, which can cause different types of lungs diseases.
Afghanistan is one of the countries that are suffering from the lack of proper network of roads. There are many areas in the country that are not accessible through proper roads and people remain away from attention and proper services. Leave the other parts of the country aside, the condition of roads in the capital Kabul are pathetic as well. Anyone, who might have experienced travelling through different parts of the capital city, can witness the agony they face in such an experience. There are only few roads that are well-maintained while the rest are nothing but ancients remains that support dust more than vehicles and people. Afghanistan does not have latest technology that can support in maintaining their roads. Attention and consideration in this regard is of great importance. Afghan government, donor agencies and developed countries that are willing to support Afghanistan can divert attention to this important issue. Currently, Japan has taken an important step in this regard. As, it is widely known and appreciated for its advancement in technology, it has decided to support Afghanistan by handing over 106 different machines to the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Works for maintenance of roads in 25 different locations in 12 provinces. A statement from the Japan Embassy has said that Tokyo has decided to provide additional machineries for seven locations in five provinces, including Saripul, Herat, Kapisa, Takhar and Samangan in order to enhance road maintenance capacity, especially against snowfall, avalanche, flood and other natural disasters. It is also worthy to note that the “Project for Improvement of Road Maintenance Capacity in Afghanistan” is executed with the partnership of Japanese International Cooperation System (JICS) with the total budget of $32 million USD. As a result of the implementation, road maintenance capacity of the provinces, such as Kabul, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Bamiyan, Daikundi, Ghor, Logar, Paktia and Parwan would be significantly improved.
Speaking on the occasion of handing over ceremony on Wednesday, July 01, Hiroshi Takahashi, ambassador of Japan to Afghanistan, said, “The improvement of road maintenance by these machineries will stabilize the networking of transportation and movements of the people and promote the trade and products from rural areas to the main cities. Afghans would also have better access to the basic social services like hospitals, schools and markets and the economy, which would change social life of people for the much better.”
Such supports are very much crucial for Afghanistan and can assist them in developing strong infrastructure. Afghanistan is in crying need of latest technology in almost all fields of life and in case of maintenance of roads the requirement becomes even more essential as the situation is not satisfactory in this regard.