Afghanistan: As gas prices soar, people forced to use wood for heating

Kandahar [Afghanistan], January 30 (ANI): As gas prices are soaring in Afghanistan's Kandahar, residents of the province are forced to use wood for heating instead of gas-powered heating.
According to Pajhwok Afghan News, Taktak Bazaar in Kandahar city is a major center for the manufacturing of metal products, where demand for wood stoves has increased.
Jamshid, a maker of stoves in the market said that the price of wood stoves and wood is cheaper than that of gas stoves and gas.
While Haji Shah Wali, a timber wood seller in the Sarpoza area of Kandahar city, said that the price of 4.5 kilograms of wood cost from 40 to 50 afghanis while a kilogram of gas was sold for 85 afghanis. He sold 4.5 kilograms of dry and broken wood for 50 afghanis, but sold wet and unbroken wood for 40 afghanis, according to Pajhwok Afghan News.
Among gas and other crises, power shortage has also been posing challenges to the people of Afghanistan. Reports have mentioned that Afghanistan needs 850 megawatts of electricity per year.
Following this, various factories have been closed down in Afghanistan's Kandahar province due to lack of electricity, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, many electricity supply projects have been halted for the past four months.
Officials at Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said that the main reason for halting these projects is the suspension of funds from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the United States development aid to Afghanistan, Tolo News has reported.
Turkmenistan's 500 KV electricity transmission to Afghanistan is one of these projects, which was transferring electricity from the border of Turkmenistan to Sheberghan's Aqina port and then to the Alvazun plain of Kunduz and finally to the Arghandi district of Kabul. Only 10 per cent of the work needs to be finished. (ANI)