CHENAB COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

INDUS BASIN IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN

 Submitted To: Engr. Ali

 Submitted By: Rana Ghafran

 Registration No: 2016-UET-CCET- CIVIL-33

Signature: ____________
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INDUS BASIN IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN .............................................. 3

1.1 INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4

1.1.1 Silent Features of IBIS ........................................................................................ 5

1.1.2 Reservoirs ........................................................................................................... 5

1.1.3 Barrages .............................................................................................................. 6

1.1.4 Link Canals ......................................................................................................... 6

1.1.5 Water Availability............................................................................................... 7

1.1.6 Issues ................................................................................................................... 7

1.2 Historical developments in the Indus basin irrigation system --------------------------- 7

1.2.1 Early developments in Jammu and Kashmir ...................................................... 8

1.2.2 Early irrigation system in Punjab ........................................................................ 8

1.2.3 Post-partition developments.............................................................................. 11

1.3 The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and hydrological developments ---------------------- 12

1.4 REFERENCES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14

1 INDUS BASIN IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN

Figure 1-1 Indus basin irrigation system in Pakistan

1.1 INTRODUCTION

About 50 million years ago, in the Mesozoic era, the shallow sandy Tethys Sea upfolded and
formed the Great Himalayan Ranges because of the collision of Indian plate and the Siberian
plate. The Indus basin comprised of lofty Himalayan mountains in the north and flat plains of
Punjab and Sindh in the east and south. These mountains with immense snow cover gave birth
to the Indus River and its tributaries.

The Indus River originates from Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, China, which traverses a total
length of 3200 km. From the point of origin, the river flows in the northwest direction and then
turns southward after reaching the Hindu Kush Mountains. Many smaller tributaries join the
Indus River on its way including Shyok, Zanskar, Gilgit, Swat, and Kabul. Near Kalabagh, it
enters into the alluvial plain of Punjab. Five tributaries, viz., Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and
Sutlej, join and traverse in the form of Panjnad and then join the Indus River. The mighty river
runs as a large single channel through the Sindh province and ends up draining into the Arabian
Sea.

The alluvial plain of Indus River is further divided into upper and lower Indus basins based on
topography and elevation. The upper Indus basin comprises of the high-altitude mountainous
areas with rugged topography including western areas of Tibet and Ladakh, stretching to the
Himalayan foothills. The lower Indus basin starts from Attok and ends at Indus delta and
consists of vast plains of Punjab and Sindh. The climate of Indus basin is humid in the north,
semiarid in Punjab, and arid in the Sindh province.

The Indus River shares 52% of water in Indus River system, whereas the rest of the 48% is
contributed by the Indus River tributaries. The rivers of the Indus basin receive more than 50%
water from the glaciers followed by well-defined monsoon system in the upper catchment
during monsoon season. The data of the past one century highlights slight reduction in the
water flow in the Indus River system.
1.1.1 Silent Features of IBIS
 There are 3 major reservoirs
 IBIS consist of 19 Barrages
 Total number of Headworks are 2
 There are 12 inter link canals operating
 IBIS comprises of 44 canals.

Water to entire Indus Basin Irrigation System is supplied by main five rivers namely Indus,
Jehlum, Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab. It is also aided by number of smaller rivers.

1.1.2 Reservoirs

Three major reservoirs operates on Indus Basin Irrigation System. Tarbela and Chashma on
River Indus whereas Mangla on river Jehlum.

1.1.2.1 Mangla Reservoir

Mangla dam is located on River Jhelum in Mirpur Azad Kashmir. This dam is used forb
multipurpose, one of them is for Irrigation. Mangla dam was the first dam to strengthen the
irrigation system of entire country with storage capacity of 7.39 MAF.

1.1.2.2 Tarbela Reservoir

Tarbela dam is located on River Indus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This dam was designed to
store water from Indus River for Irrigation, flood control and hydroelectric power. The storage
capacity of Tarbela dam was 9.679 MAF but due to sediments it is reduced to 6.434 MAF.

1.1.2.3 Chashma Reservoir

Chashma reservoir is located on River Indus in Mianwali District of Punjab. This reservoir is
used for irrigation purpose and power generation with storage capacity of 0.87 MAF.
1.1.3 Barrages

Irrigation system of Pakistan consist of 19 barrages. Following is the list of these barrages.

 Chashma barrage on Indus River in Mianwali District.

 Taunsa barrage on Indus River in Muzaffargarh District. This barrage serves 2.351 MA.
 Jinnah barrage on Indus River near Kalabagh irrigates 1,900,000acres.
 Guddu barrage on Indus River near Kashmoor Sindh.
 Sukkur barrage on Indus River near Sukkur city Sindh.
 Kotri barrage on Indus River near Hyderabad.
 Rasul barrage on River Jhelum between Jhelum District and Mandi Bahauddin District.
 Marala barrage on River Chenab near city Gujrat and Sialkot.
 Khanki Barrage on River Chenab in Gujranwala District.
 Qadirabad barrage on River Chenab in Hafiz Abad District.
 Trimmu barrage on Chenab River in Jhang District.
 Panjnad barrage on River Chenab irrigates 1.8325 million acers.
 Balloki barrage on Ravi River in Punjab.
 Sidhnai barrage on River Ravi near Multan.
 Sulemanki barrage on River Sutlej in Punjab.
 Islam barrage on River Sutlej near Hasilpur Town.
 Mailsi barrage is constructed on River Sutlej.
 Ghazi Brotha on Indus River
 Munda barrage on River Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

1.1.4 Link Canals

 Link canals are used to divert water from one river to another. There are 12 link canals for
Indus Basin Irrigation System. Detail is given below:
 Chashma-Jhelum link canal joins the Jhelum and Indus River.
 Tauns-Punjnad link canal takes off from Taunsa on the Indus and transfer water from the
Indus to the Chenab.
 Marala-Ravi link canal links Chenab and Ravi.
 Upper Chenab-Ravi link canal links Chenab with Ravi.
 Rasul-Qadirabad link canal link between Jhelum and Chenab.
 Qadirabad-Balloki link canal transfer water from Chenab to Ravi.
 Balloki-Sulemanki link canal connect Ravi with Sutlej.
 Trimmu-Sidhnai link canal transfer water from Chenab via Trimmu barrage to Ravi.
 Sidhnai-Mailsi link canal originates from River Ravi and joins Sutlej Ravi at Mailsi.
 Mailsi-Bahawal link canal originates from Mailsi and supplies water to Bahawal canal.
 Abasia link canal originates from River Chenab at Panjnad barrage.
 Bambanwala, Ravi and Bedian link canal, three rivers are linked Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej.

1.1.5 Water Availability

 The average annual flow of western rivers of Indus basin is about 142 MAF. From 142
MAF, 104 MAF water is diverted for irrigation purpose and remaining 35 MAF outflows
to Arabian Sea.
 Another source of water is rainfall.
 The third source of water is ground water.

1.1.6 Issues
 For every province there is shortage of at least 30% funds for irrigation system.
 Indus basin is now facing wear and tear due to which its efficiency is reduced by 50%.
Major portion of water is wasted due to poor maintenance.
 Wastage of water is creating salinity and water logging issues which has reduced storage
capacity.

1.2 Historical developments in the Indus basin irrigation system

In the development of early irrigation canals, the rulers of states in upper Indus basin areas
played a vital role and paved the way to the construction of the complex irrigation system that
exists today. Areas where significant work was done include Jammu and Kashmir regions,
Punjab, and Sindh. Later on, further developmental work was carried out in several stages and
different eras. Even today, an expansion of Indus irrigation system could be observed in
different regions of Pakistan and India.

1.2.1 Early developments in Jammu and Kashmir

Development of the canal irrigation system started in the eighth century in the Kashmir region
after the regular flooding of the valley and rise in the prices of crops that made the survival of
the poor very difficult. In such a situation, King Lalitaditya set the drainage system in a suitable
direction and distributed the Jhelum River water to different villages for increased production
of crops. The Martand Canal was constructed in that period; starting from the left bank of
Liddar River and terminating at Karewa of Martands, the canal irrigates about 3844.5 ha of
land along its 50 km long channel. King Avantivarman started the channel cleaning,
broadening, construction of stone embankments, and changing of the location of river junction.
Villages were protected by constructing dykes, and in order to make the irrigation system of
the valley more effective, a network of canals was constructed, and rain-dependent areas were
provided with irrigation facilities. The Nur and Nandikul Canals were constructed with a length
of 13 and 30 km, respectively. Nur canal originated from the Jhelum River and terminated at
Anderkot Village, while Nandikul Canal was designed to irrigate 3237.5 ha of land of the
northern Anantnag by receiving its water from the Nullah Anantnag. Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin
constructed the Zainagir Canal on the Madhumati River, to irrigate the rice fields and apple
orchards on 5463.3 ha in the district Baramulla.

1.2.2 Early irrigation system in Punjab

The Punjab province is located downstream to the Kashmir, and early developments in
irrigation system of this region occurred during the thirteenth to sixteenth century. The first
canal in Punjab was constructed about five centuries ago by the Mughal Emperors. In the
beginning, only inundation channels were designed to deliver river water to the cropland
during the high flow season. Because of some technical problems, viz., unpredicted high flow
season, siltation, and breaching, these inundation canals could not deliver the water effectively
to the cropland. Later on, some primitive types of headworks on rivers were constructed to get
more control over the water. These headworks either did not extend across the entire stream or
allowed the floods to pass over their crests. Mughal Emperor Jahangir constructed an 80 km
perennial canal on Ravi River to deliver the water to the Gardens of Sheikhupura. In 1643,
Shah Nahr developed to provide water to the Shalamar gardens and other irrigational lands
around Lahore city. Later on, Hajiwah and Tiwana Canals were developed in Punjab with
support of British rulers to irrigate croplands in the Mailsi and Sargodha regions. Furthermore,
11 canals were built on the Indus River to irrigate the agricultural lands of D.G. Khan Region
during 1875.

2.3 The modern irrigation system in Punjab and Sindh

The development of the existing modern Indus irrigation system started in the mid of
nineteenth century during the British rule. Food demand and British economic interests in the
agricultural products specifically cotton were a major driving force for the development of an
extensive agriculture system in British India. A large number of inundation canals originating
from the Indus River system were remodeled. To ensure the water supply in cropland of
Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), several permanent headworks were
constructed. The construction of Marala Headworks started on Chenab River in 1887 to irrigate
the Upper Rachna Doab through Upper Chenab Canal, whereas, in 1890, Chenab water
diverted to Sandal Bar from Lower Chenab Canal. In 1897, Rasul Headworks were constructed
on the Jhelum River to feed the Lower Jhelum Canal to irrigate the agricultural land in the Chaj
Doab. In 1902, Madhopur Headworks were completed on the Ravi River to provide water for
agriculture to the Upper Bari Doab. Furthermore, the Triple Canal Project was designed and
sanctioned in 1905. It was the first project to transfer the river water from one to another river.
A gate-regulated canal, the Upper Jhelum Canal, was designed to provide irrigation water to
almost 139,212 ha per annum on its way from Mangla to Khanki. The construction work of
the canal was completed in 1917 and drained its water into Chenab River in the upstream of
the Khanki Barrage of Lower Chenab Canal. The second canal was the Upper Chenab Canal,
originating 58 km upstream of Khanki from Marala Barrage, designed to irrigate almost
262,236.7 ha of cropland on its way from Marala to Balloki. The canal opened for irrigational
purposes in 1912, and its water drained into the Ravi River above Balloki Headworks. The
third canal, the Lower Bari Doab canal, originated from a 0.5 km long weir on the Ravi River
near Balloki and irrigated almost 354,910 ha of lands in Montgomery District (Sahiwal) and
Multan. It was one of the major irrigational projects executed during the British Era.

After the First World War, the British Government decided to remodel the pre-existing
inundation canals along with the construction of new canals to irrigate the parched areas of
Sutlej Valley in 1921. The project was aimed to provide perennial water supply to the
inundation canals after remodeling them by controlling the river water with the help of barrages
along with irrigating more and more areas of land. Construction of four barrages along with 11
canals on the Sutlej River was completed in 1933 to convert the arid land into cropland. The
Ferozepur Barrage with three non-perennial canals, namely, Bikaner Canal, Eastern Canal, and
Dipalpur Canal, was constructed near Ferozepur to irrigate cultivated areas of Bikaner State,
Ferozepur district, northeastern areas of the Bahawalpur State, and Lahore and Montgomery
(Sahiwal) Districts. Sulemanki Barrage with three perennial canals, namely, Eastern Sidiqia
Canal, Fordwah Canal, and Pakpattan Canal, was constructed to irrigate some areas of the
Bahawalpur State. Furthermore, Islam Barrage was constructed in Tehsil Hasilpur with three
non-perennial canals, namely, Mailsi Canal, Qaimpur Canal, and Bahawal Canal, irrigating
about 577,892 ha of cropland. After the confluence of Sutlej River and Chenab, Panjnad
Barrage was constructed with a perennial canal (Abbasia Canal) and a non-perennial canal
(Panjnad Canal) to irrigate 44,920 ha and 541,875 ha of cropland, respectively. In 1922,
Maharaja Ganga Singh constructed a canal to irrigate the Bikaner State originating from the
left bank of the Sutlej River.

The Sukkur Barrage Project was the first-ever barrage to be built on the Indus River sanctioned
in 1923 and completed in 1932 with seven canals . The Trimmu Barrage with three canals was
constructed on the Chenab River below the confluence of the Jhelum River during 1937–1939.
It was the last barrage completed before the start of the Second World War. During the partition
of subcontinent, the construction of Jinnah Barrage and Kotri Barrage on the Indus River was
in progress. At that time, the Bhakra Dam was also under construction on the Sutlej River.
Jinnah Barrage was completed in 1947, and Kotri Barrage was completed in 1955 .

1.2.3 Post-partition developments

Due to the partition of India and Pakistan, Ferozepur and Madhupur Headworks became the
part of India, which triggered the Indus water dispute. India cut off the water supplies of Upper
Bari Doab canal and made all of the downstream irrigation activities impossible to be carried
out. In this situation of water scarcity, Pakistan immediately constructed Bombanwali-Ravi-
Bedian (BRB) Link Canal to provide water supply to irrigate the Upper Bari Doab. It was a
164 km canal originating from Upper Chenab Canal and moving southward to Bedian. India
also constructed two main canals from Sutlej River in order to divert the water of the river
from flowing downstream into Pakistan. To maintain the water level in Sutlej River, the
Balloki-Sulemanki Link canal was constructed from Balloki Headworks on Ravi River to
Sulemanki Headworks on the Sutlej River. Both the BRB canal and Balloki-Sulemanki canals
were completed within a duration of 3 years (1951–1954). Before the war of 1965, another
canal named Marala-Ravi Link was constructed having a length of 101 km to add additional
water in Ravi River from the Chenab River. In the Sindh Province, construction of Guddu
Barrage on the Indus River started in 1957 and was completed in 1963. The aim of this project
was to remodel the upper inundation canals in the Sindh area into perennial canals to increase
the area under cultivation in Sindh and Balochistan, and it was designed to keep 1.13 million
hectares of land irrigated throughout the year. Later on, Kotri Barrage was completed to ensure
the supply to the inundation canals in the southern parts of Sindh. Both the Guddu and Kotri
Barrage accounted for the conversion of a large deserted area into irrigational lands. A
multipurpose barrage, Taunsa Barrage1, on the Indus River was completed in 1958 to provide
controlled water supplies for irrigation . The Warsak Dam2 was constructed in 1960, and along
with providing water storage, it also produced 40 MW of electricity. Later on, the production
capacity of the dam was increased by installing additional generators.
1.3 The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and hydrological developments

In 1960, IWT was signed between Pakistan and India as an effort for resolving the disputes
due to the partition of the Indus basin rivers. The headwater sources of Indus River and its
tributaries are present in India. India got the control over water resources of Pakistan flowing
downstream. During the first 10 years of independence, Pakistan experienced severe blockage
or reduction of river waters, which badly affected the crop yield in Pakistan. The World Bank
and British Government helped the twin states to reach an agreement called Indus Water Treaty
(IWT). In this treaty, the water rights of eastern rivers, viz., Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas Rivers, were
allocated to India, whereas the control of western rivers, viz., Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab
Rivers, was given to Pakistan. After a period of 10 years, both the countries were authorized
to utilize their share of water in their own way. After the treaty was signed, India started to
construct projects on eastern rivers in order to divert the water flowing in eastern rivers, and
water shortage started in the areas of Pakistan irrigated by the eastern rivers. To fulfill the
shortage of water in the eastern rivers, the World Bank financed 8 billion US dollars project
“Indus Basin Development Fund” for the construction of dams, barrages, and canals in
Pakistan. Furthermore, link canals were constructed to inter-connect the western and the
eastern rivers in Punjab for a sustainable supply of water to the cropland. The project was
completed in two phases due to the inadequacy of funds. In the first phase, the key construction
of Mangla Dam was completed on the Jhelum River in 1967.

Some of the barrages and canals were also modified and improved. After the completion of the
first phase, another amount of 1.2 billion US dollars was approved by the World Bank, and the
second phase of development started in 1968. The construction of Tarbela Dam on the Indus
River was completed in 1976. This dam has sufficient storage capacity of water to supply
during low flow season . Both Mangla and Tarbela dams accounted for the major proportion
of hydroelectricity generated in Pakistan. Several barrages were remodeled to divert the water
from one river to another river such as Rasul, Sidhnai, Chashma, etc. Punjab and Sindh
Governments are focusing on lining the canals and water courses to conserve the water. A
number of projects have been completed for electricity generation like Ghazi-Barotha and
Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric projects. Owing to the high demand of irrigation water and
climate change, rivers in Pakistan are facing the reduction in water flow, and this shortage of
water may be intensified in the near future. Considering these issues, the Government of
Pakistan is planning to construct more dams to increase the water storage capacity on the Indus
River.

India also carried out some projects in the Indus basin, like Harike Barrage with three canals,
viz., Ferozepur Feeder Canal, Makhu Canal, and Rajasthan Feeder Canal, constructed on the
Sutlej River in 1952. The Rajasthan Feeder Canal was later on upgraded in 1961 with the
construction of Bhakra Main Line Canal and a large network of distributary canals under Indira
Gandhi Irrigation Canal system to irrigate the Rajasthan desert . In 1954, Ravi-Beas Link Canal
was designed to transfer the water from Ravi River to Beas River. At the time of partition, the
Bhakra Dam was in progress and completed in the early 1970s under the Bhakra Nangal
Project. Bhakra Main Line Canal was constructed from Bhakra Dam for irrigation purposes.
Downstream of Bhakra, at a distance of 13 km, another dam called Nangal Dam, was designed
to control to feed the Nangal Hydel Channel. The whole project generates about 1325 MW of
electricity and provides irrigation water for about 4.04 million hectares of land in Punjab,
Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan. The Pong Dam was built in 1975 on Beas River
to store water and use it through Shah Nahr. In 1977, Pandoh Dam was constructed along with
the Beas-Sutlej Link Canal from the Beas River to Sutlej River. Sutlej-Yumuna Link Canal
started from Nangal Dam in 1982, but it is still incomplete due to strong resistance from the
Indian Punjab Government.

In 2014, Nimoo-Bazgo Dam was completed on Indus River in Ladakh region of Indian-held
Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, Kishanganga Dam is under construction by India, on the
upstream of Neelum River near Bandipore, to divert the water flow into an underground
powerhouse to generate electricity. Besides these projects, a large number of projects are still
in planning stages on both sides of the borderline. Majority of these projects are of
hydroelectric nature, and water will mainly be used for electricity generation, for example,
Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Mohmand Dam, from Pakistan’s side and Pakal Dul Dam from the
Indian side. But with the construction of these massive concrete structures, a huge amount of
water will be stored and provided during low water season in order to fulfill the agricultural
water requirements.

1.4 REFERENCES

https://www.intechopen.com/books/irrigation-water-productivity-and-operation
sustainability-and-climate-change/vulnerability-of-environmental-resources-in-indus-basin
after-the-development-of-irrigation-system

https://www.slideshare.net/HamzaKhanAfridi/indus-basin-irrigation-
system?from_action=save