Canals being taken out of River Indus since 1840s

LAHORE: The history of canals being taken out of the 3180-kilometre long River Indus, which has a total drainage area of 430,000 square miles, dates back to 1840s when British engineers had started the construction of the world’s largest man-made canal irrigation system in this part of the world, which provides irrigation facilities to 48 million acres, research shows.

These numbers have also been cited in Wapda’s Annual Report 2019-20.

Early canal development, aimed at enhancing farm output, was then followed by the construction of numerous other dams, barrages, and canals, particularly after 1947.

Seven canals were taken out by the British from the Lloyd Barrage or the Sukkur Barrage, which was built between 1923 and 1932 on River Indus.

And now the plan to construct six canals in southern Punjab has panicked residents of Sindh.

Water disputes between Punjab and Sindh province have existed since the irrigation system was developed in this region.

Here follows a list of canals in Sindh at Sukkur, Guddu, Kotri and Sindh Barrages: Rainee Canal, Dadu Canal, Rice Canal, Ghotki Canal, Rohri Canal, Nara Canal, Pat Feeder, Desert Pat Feeder, Begari Sindh Feeder, Nasrat Canal, Khairpur East Canal, Khairpur West Canal, North Western Canal, Fuleli Canal, Kalri Canal, Pinyari Canal, Akram Wah Canal, Karachi Canal, and the Thar Canal.