Residents in Afghanistan's Faryab raise concerns over surging coal, firewood prices

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 14 : Residents in the Faryab province of Afghanistan raised concerns over the rise in prices of coal and firewood as the economy of the war-ravaged country continues to get worse, TOLOnews reported on Friday.
The residents further complained that they are unable to heat up their houses amid a harsh and unforgiving winter and have conveyed their concerns to the authorities.
Zinatullah, a baker in the province, said the rising prices of firewood and coal have affected his business.
"The prices of flour and heating materials, including firewood, coal and gas have increased manifold," Khaama Press quoted him as saying.
According to local officials, the cost of coal and firewood has not increased, but poverty and unemployment have made it difficult for individuals to purchase fuel.
"The price of firewood is 80 Afs for every seven kilograms," said Mohibullah, another resident of Kabul, lamenting the unavailability of fuel.
Wood and coal sellers said there is a sharp reduction in the number of customers.
"There is no customer because people cannot afford it. There are the families who don't have money to buy firewood," said Mohammad Hassan, a firewood seller.
Discrimination against more than half the population of the country continues to affect the growth of Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban seized power in Kabul last year, 18 packages of USD 40 million and more than 30 packages of USD 32 million, worth of funds, have been given to Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported citing DAB records.
Despite the cash assistance, Afghanistan's poverty, malnutrition, and unemployment rates are still at their peak.
Natural catastrophes have made the situation even worse for Afghans as they grapple with one of the greatest humanitarian crisis in the country's history.