Sirhind Canal
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Sirhind Canal
A perennial canal in the Punjab, taking off from the Sutlej, and irrigating the high land between the Sutlej on the north- west and the Patiala and Ghaggar streams on the south-east, and ex- tending as far south as the borders of Rajputana, Bahawalpur, and the Bikaner State. The canal was constructed by Government, in association with the Native States of Patiala, Nabha, and Jind. The preliminary survey work was begun in 1867, and the canal was formally opened in 1882, though irrigation did not commence until 1883. The area com- manded by the canal is 8,320 square miles, of which 4,027 are in British territory, and the remainder in the States of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Faridkot, and Kalsia. The head-works are at the town of Rupar, where the Sutlej issues from the Siwalik Hills into the plains. Here a weir 2,370 feet long crosses the river from bank to bank, having 12 arched undersluices each of 20 feet span. Extending up-stream on the east bank is the canal head regulator, with 13 arched openings of 21 feet span. About 500 feet farther up the river is the lock channel head, to admit of navigation between the river and canal. The crest of the weir is 29/4 feet higher than the canal bed, and along it extends a line of 586 falling shutters 6 feet high. When these are raised and the undersluices closed, the whole of the river supply is turned into the canal, and this is usually the case from early in October to the end of April. The main canal has for 39 miles a bed-width of 200 feet, with a depth of 23/2 feet, and can carry 8,000 cubic feet per second, or more than four times the ordinary flow of the Thames at Ted- dington. At the 39th mile it divides into two large branches, the combined branch on the west and the Patiala feeder on the east. The former, which has a bed-width of 136 feet and a capacity of 5,200 cuhic feet per second, soon divides again into two branches. The norlliern of these, the Abohar branch, runs parallel to the Sutlej through Ludhiana and Ferozepore Districts, terminating after a course of 126 miles at the town of Govindgarh. The southern or Bhatinda branch runs through Ludhiana District and Patiala territory, with a length of 100 miles. The irrigation from these two branches is mainly in British territory, and the administration is entirely under the British Government, which retains all the revenue derived from them. They receive between them 64 per cent, of the supply of the main line. The Patiala feeder, the eastern of the two large branches into which the main line bifurcates, runs to the town of Patiala, having a bed-width of 75 feet, and a capa- city of 3,000 cubic feet per second. On its way it gives off to the south the three Native State branches, the Kotla (94 miles long), the Ghaggar (54 miles), and the Choa (25 miles). These three branches irrigate almost exclusively State territory, and the distributaries and irrigation arrangements are under the States, who receive the whole of the canal revenue ; but the Patiala feeder and the branches are maintained by an officer of the Canal department as agent for the States, who distributes the water according to a fixed allotment, Patiala taking 83 per cent., Nabha 9 per cent., and Jind 8 per cent.
The distributaries were constructed so as to penetrate the border of every irrigated village, and thus to save the people the expense of making long watercourses and the difficulty of taking them through the land of other villages. This system, though expensive to construct and maintain, has been repaid by the rapidity with which irrigation has spread over the country. As during the cold season the whole of the river supply is turned into the canal, it was necessary to provide a sub- stitute on the canal for the river navigation thus closed. Accordingly the main line, the combined branch, and 48 miles of the Abohar branch were provided with locks at the falls ; and from the 48th mile of the Abohar branch a special navigation canal to the Sutlej near Ferozepore, 47 miles long, was constructed with a branch 4 miles long to Feroze- pore. The Patiala feeder was also made navigable as far as Patiala. There is, however, little navigation along the branches, though the main line from Rupar to the North-Western Railway is much used, bringing down a considerable amount of timber from the hills. There are 25 flour-mills at different falls along the branches. The greater part of the main line and branches is bordered by rows of trees, and the strip of land reserved for spoil or borrow pits is generally covered with plantations. A telegraph line extends from the canal head down the main line, the two British branches, the Patiala feeder, and part of the two longer Native State branches. Since 1896-7 the area irrigated has in only one year fallen below 1,560 square miles ; the greatest area irrigated was 2,142 square miles in 1899- 1900, of which 1,452 were in British territory. The total cost of construction to the end of 1903-4 has been 388.7 lakhs, of which 247.7 lakhs was paid by the Govern- ment, and 141 lakhs by the three Phulkian States. Of the cost of the head-works and main line, the Government paid 64 per cent, and the Phulkian States contributed 36 per cent. The Government defrayed the whole cost of the British branches, and the Native States that of their branches. The charges for annual maintenance are divided in the same way.
The gross revenue on the British branches averages about 28 lakhs, and the net revenue 20 lakhs. On the Native States branches the gross revenue averages about 12.5 lakhs, and the net revenue about 7 lakhs. The return on the British capital outlay was as high as io-8 per cent, in 1897-8, and averaged 8 per cent, during the six years ending 1902-3. On the Native States capital outlay the return for these six years averaged 5.3 per cent. This canal is now not only a successful com- mercial scheme paying a handsome profit, but its advantages in years of drought are incalculable. It saves from famine a large tract of country and also provides food for exportation. Since 1896-7 it has been steadily paying off the accumulated interest charges. The tract of country irrigated is now traversed in all directions by several different lines of railway, some of which would not have been required if no canal was in existence.
