Canal System of Pakistan

by on January 31, 2010
in Hydropower

Thal_Canal of Pakistan

Irrigation is the man-made supply of water to the land to encourage vegetation. It is a substitute for inadequate or erratic rainfall and is extremely essential for arid regions where there are no rivers and also in humid regions to improve crop output. In Pakistan, 75% of the agricultural land is under irrigation. Three major water sources in Pakistan are rain water, ground water and rivers.

Irrigation system is not something new. Since olden days, people had devised various methods to water their fields. Some traditional methods of irrigation are Persian Wheel, Charsa and Shaduf. Karez is another traditional irrigation system practiced in Baluchistan only. Karez is a horizontal canal located mainly on the foot hills and it brings the under ground water to the surface. Modern advancements in the irrigation system are the perennial canals and tube wells.
Pakistan is basically a dry country with the River Indus and its tributaries being the main source of water supply. Dams both large and small and barrages have been built on the Indus and its tributaries. Large dams such as Tarbela Dam and Mangla Dam are multipurpose plans which not only store water, irrigate lands but also generate hydro electricity. Small dams like Khanpur Dam, Rawal Dam and Hub Dam supply water for agriculture, industrial and domestic purpose and act as a reservoir as well. A hilly terrain is required to build a dam. Barrages on the other hand are built on flat places they also supply water for irrigation purpose and industrial and domestic use. Some barrages are Sukkur Barrage, Guddu Barrage, Kotri Barrage, and Chashma Barrage.

Canals are taken out from rivers, dams and barrages. Pakistan has one of the largest canal irrigation systems in the world. The Inundation canals are taken from rivers and they receive water only when the water level in the rivers is high such as during floods. The perennial canals are taken from dams and barrages and supply water to the fields through out the year. In Pakistan there are 3 large dams, 85 small dams, 19 barrages, 12 inter link canals, 45 canals and 0.7 million tube wells to meet the commercial, domestic and irrigational needs of the country.

Author MairaS:
Webpreneur. CEO ContentCreatorZ Pakistan. Managing Partner Media Marketing Services.


13 Responses to “Canal System of Pakistan”
  1. ibrahim says:

    give some clear maps

  2. Mazhar Haq says:

    It is good effert to put the map of dam and canal but not readable and print quality is also poor. If possible please upsdate. Site is very informative and use full. Plese send me the site where I can get a good map of irrigation system of Pakistan. Thanks for your efforts.

  3. nimra says:

    which is the biggest and longest canal of pakistan???

  4. Fami says:

    Excellent and to the point briefing of Canal irrigation in Pakistan.
    As per me it would be great if some knowledge about the advantages, disadvantages and effectivness of conventional system of canal irrigation will also be included.

  5. ad says:

    tarbela dam!i think so

  6. Ranbir S. Sandhu says:

    It would be nice if you could provide maps for individual canals, the areas they irrigate, and the location of divisions and subdivisions.

    My father served in the irrigation department, Punjab from 1906 to 1939. I am interested in knowing the location of various places where he was stationed an where he lived.

  7. REEM says:

    Tell that what is the main purpose of Barrages/Heads over canals?

  8. azam says:

    please tell me what is the bigest clay canal. i need a list of clay canal in asia. there is a clay canal in chitral khot called ra joe. some one told me that this one is the bigest clay canal in asia. it may be tru or not.

  9. Ali Raza says:

    please provide a list of main canals in Pakistan with their discharge ,c.c.a and branches. Thanx

  10. M abuzar says:

    sir ap mujy yay bta ay keh nihr or canal ka pressur our speed kesy measure kerty h plz infrm me

  11. arif iqbal mianwali says:

    pehley sindh men dem bna len phr kalabagh dem bna len.sindh k sath agreement kr len k sindh ka dem jb bhar jaey ga phr kalabagh dem mn pani store kren gy

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