(UNTITLED)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP07-02247R000200180006-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: January 12, 2017
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2011
• Sequence Number: 6
• Content Type: PHOTO

Approved For Release 2011/06/29: CIA-RDP07-02247R000200180006-5
A. 8f?.YAYEd;
Assistant Chief of Construction
of the Main Turkmen Canal
As recently as two years ago Takhia Tash, a stony headland on the banks of the
Amu Darya River, was an out-of-the-way spot hardly known to anyone, But in this
short span of time it has changed beyond recognition, for it has become the base
for our onslaught on the desert, the point at which the Main Turkmen Canal takes
its start.
At the end of October 1950 the first group of construction workers arrived in
Takhia Tash where temporary accommodation was arranged for them. By now Takhia
Tash has become a full-sized town with a population of several thousands. Hundreds
of comfortable houses line its 24 streets. A piped water supply, asphalted streets, a
secondary school, library, post office, restaurant and cinema are among the amenities
already available.
W,
Approved For Release 2011/06/29: CIA-RDP07-02247R000200180006-5
But the town keeps on growing and developing. Before long a hospital and
polyclinic and a club will be in service, as well as a central heating system is
under way.
Lines of young trees have converted many streets into boulevards, Gardens around
houses and in courtyards greatly beautify the scene, A total of over 150,000 trees has
already been planted. In a few years' time, what was so recently a desert, rocky waste
will be a town covered with orchards and groves.
Takhia Tash has become a place where almost every building trade and profes-
sion is represented. The state is taking good care of those engaged in the construction
of the Main Turkmen Canal, supplying everything needed to make the job a success,
and of course paying attention to the cultural aspects of life.