Girishk or
Gereshk is a town in
Nahri Saraj District in
Helmand province on the
Helmand River in
Afghanistan, some northwest of
Kandahar, at altitude. It is the centre of a rich agricultural region with the
Kajakai Dam upriver diverting water to the
Boghra Irrigation Canal. Girishk was originally built around a fort on the east bank of the river but was later rebuilt on the west. During the
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42), the fort was captured by the British but it was later abandoned; the same thing happened in 1879. Girishk has a population of about 48,546 and has a developed hospital and a school of engineering which was built back in 1957.