afghanistandam had been designed to carry water for two, not one, secondary canals,
the scrapping of the Marja Extension led to overspilling, flooding and the
degradation of in-canal structures.
As the problems mounted, Afghan officials and mka engineers blamed
each other for the cost blowout and lack of progress. Some officials even
accused mka of deliberately dragging out the scheme in order to make
more and more profits. One particular bone of contention was mka’s
cantonment at Lashkargah, where American employees enjoyed all the
luxuries of Middle America, including air-conditioned villas, Hollywood
movies, recreational facilities and cold beers. The fact that Americans
were living in what for Afghans was the lap of luxury and at government
expense, while outside the farmers barely made ends meet, angered both
officials and local people.
While mka struggled to fix the many complex technical issues, appli-
cations for land became bogged down in bureaucracy. Due to the reduced
area of land irrigated, the government cut the acreage allocated to each
settler to such a degree that the farms were no longer economically sustain-
able. Pushtun nomads who received grants of land had no experience of
farming or water management and received only minimal training. Some
Baluch tribesmen gather at the weekly market in Lashkari bazaar outside the modern town
of Lashkargah and against a backdrop of ruined Ghaznavid palaces and fortifications. These
ruins stretch for some 7 km (4.4 mi.) along the left bank of the Helmand river. The Helmand
Valley Irrigation Scheme was inspired by a vision of rehabilitating this region which, prior
to the Mongol conquest, had been a fertile oasis.