KABUL, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Afghan authorities have inaugurated and put into operation major water supply projects worth over 4.5 million U.S. dollars in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported Friday.

The networks, which cost 35.3 million afghani (about 497,183 dollars), can provide clean water to more than 2,200 families in the Sirkanay district of Kunar province, and the Momandara districts of Nangarhar province.

Additionally, it will assist farmers in irrigating hundreds of acres of land in the area, the report added.

Afghanistan has been suffering from droughts for years, and the residents of big cities, including the capital city of Kabul, have been facing extreme drinking water shortages over the past several years. ■