Taliban's Road Expansion in Kabul: Demolitions & Progress

0:00It's April 18th. This is Canada News Today, your AI-powered local news. In Kabul, the Taliban government is pushing hard to fix the city's clogged streets by widening roads and building flyovers. They've already constructed about 450 kilometers of new roads over the past four and a half years, taking over 11,000. Properties in the process, homes, shops, and even graveyards are getting cleared out to make room. This road expansion plan dates back years from the time of the old U.S.-backed government, but it's stalled due to bureaucracy and fighting. Now it's moving fast, with 233 more projects lined up this year and nearly $30 million set aside for them. Folks on the ground have mixed feelings. Many families had to tear down their own buildings after crews started the job, leaving them in rented spots and dipping into savings. But they admit the old narrow roads caused brutal traffic jams, taking an hour, just to go a short way. Take the workers on one big flyover project. 500 people employed around the clock on a $23 million bill that's already 80.

1:06Percent done on the underpass. Even graves got moved across the street, and some families got over $13,000 in compensation to start over elsewhere. These changes are linking up key parts of East and North Kabul, bringing jobs to a tough economy while easing daily gridlock. It's reshaping the capital, one tough demolition at a time.