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Irrigation Engineering
The Almighty Allah has gifted Pakistan with abundant water resources with water flowing down
the Himalayas and Karrakurram heights from the world's largest glaciers , a free and unique
bounty of nature for this land of alluvial plains. As a result of this natural resource, today we
have the worlds marvelous and the largest contiguous irrigation system that currently irrigates
over 16 million hectares of land, out of 34 million hectares of cultivable lands available. This
land lies within the plains formed by river Indus and its tributaries. Britishers started the
barrage irrigation system during 1930s. However, before that the residents of Punjab, Sindh,
and Frontier had constructed a number of inundation canals to irrigate their lands. In the
Punjab, 38 such canals had been taken out of Sutlej, Indus, and Chenab rivers to irrigate areas
around Bari Doab Multan, Muzaffargarh, and Dera Ghazi Khan. In Sindh, water level of the
Indus during summer had always been higher than the surrounding lands, thus, 16 inundation
canals in this area had conveniently carried out the irrigation water during past century.
However, British Army Engineers undertook construction and improvement of several irrigation
canals in the sub- continent. Subsequently, remodeling/construction work on Bari Doab Canal;
Sidhnai Canal, Lower Sohag, Ramnagar Canal, Lower Jhelum Canal, Kabul Canal, and Lower
Sawat were completed by the end of l9th century. However, at the time of independence
country had 29 canals to provide regulated supply to an area of about 11 million hectares,
beside an area of about 3.2 million hectares irrigated through inundation canals leading from
Indus and its tributaries. These main inundation canals included Upper Sutlej, Lower Sutlej,
Shahpur, and Chenab in Punjab; whereas, Rohri, Fuleli, Pinyari, and Kalri in Sindh. However,
after the construction of barrages these canals are no more inundation canals but get regulated
water supply and some of them have become perennial while few are nonperennial.
2.A .Surface Water. The average annual flow of Western Rivers of Indus Basin is approximately
142 million acre feet (MAF). About 105 MAF of this water is diverted for irrigation purposes and
about 32 million acre feet outflows to the Arabian Sea.
2. B. Rain Water:
Another source of water is the rain fall. Irrigated areas of Indus Basin receive on average 40
million acres feet of water annually.
2. No. of Barrages: 16
(Sulemanki, Islam, Balloki, Marala, Trimmu, Punjnad, Sukkur, Kotri, Taunsa, Guddu,
Chashma,Jinnah , Sidhnai, Rasul, Qadirabad, and Marala)
3. No. of Headwork’s: 2
4.Barrages in Pakistan
An artificial bar or obstruction placed in a river or water course to increase the depth of water
so that water can be diverted to canals is called barrage.
4.1JINNAH BARRAGE
Year of Completion 1946
Location & River on which its constructed Kalabagh, Indus river
Design Discharge 950,000 cusecs
Left 1
No. off Taking Canals
Right -
Length 3781 ft
No. of bays 42
No. of under Sluices 1
Crest level 678.0 .P.D
5.3SIDHNAI CANAL
Year of Completion 1886
Design Discharge 4005 cusecs
Length 36.4CM
Off-taking Location Left bank canal (sidhnai Barrage)
Area to be irrigated 1017000acres 0.41 mHa
Location of area Multan, Vehari Distt.
References:
I. Barrages & Dams in Pakistan
By DR. Izharul Haq (Secretary Pak. Engg. Congress)
II. www.southasianmedia.net
III. www.scribd.com/doc/25280380/Irrigation-Engineering-Part-3
IV. www.pakistaniat.com/2006/10/30/punjab-link-canal-irrigation/
V. www.magazine.com.pk/travel/pakistan.php?ss=&page=irrigation
VI. www.sida.org.pk/areawaterboard/default.asp
VII. www.rohri.net/sukkur-barrage.htm