Sutlej Canals, Upper
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, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Sutlej Canals, Upper
An Imperial system of four inundation canals in the Punjab, known as the Katora, Khanwah, Upper Sohag, and Lower Sohag (or Lower Sohag and Para) Canals. They take off from the right bank of the Sutlej river, and irrigate the low-lying land bounded on the north by the old dry bed of the Beas, which separates it from the tracts commanded by the Bari Doab Canal. The tract commanded by the Katora Canal lies in Lahore District, and the remainder in Montgomery.
The canals existing at the end of 1903-4 aggregated 325 miles in length with 394 miles of distributaries, and carried an aggregate supply of 4,935 cubic feet per second. During the five years ending 1903-4 they irrigated an average annual area of 409 square miles and yielded an average gross revenue of 3.5 lakhs or, inclusive of the land revenue due to irrigation (which is credited to the canals in the accounts), 5.4 lakhs per annum. The average annual working expenses during the same period were 3-6 lakhs. There was, therefore, an annual profit of 1-8 lakhs. No capital expenditure was recorded against the canals till 1854-5 ; up to the end of 1903-4 it has amounted to 17 lakhs.
The Katora Canal has a bed-width of 55 feet, and an authorized discharge of 685 cubic feet per second. It was made in 1870-1, and follows the bed of a nullah for 21 miles, when it separates into three channels called the Pakhoki, Atari, and Chunian distributaries. The Khanwah has a bed-width of 65 feet, and an authorized full supply of 1,290 feet per second. The date of first opening is not known; it is, however, recorded that the canal was improved by Mirza Khan, a minister of the emperor Akbar, but it was neglected by his succes- sors, and silted up. In the time of Ranjit Singh, Dlwan Radha Ram repaired the head and cleared the channel, and the canal flowed from 1807 to 1823. It was again neglected till 1841, when Fakir Chiragh- ud-din, under the orders of Maharaja Sher Singh, had the canal repaired, and it was in flow when taken over by the Irrigation depart- ment on the annexation of the Punjab. The Upper Sohag Canal has a bed-width of 60 feet, and an authorized discharge of 1,540 cubic feet per second. It appears to have been made in 1827, and worked till 1840, when it was neglected ; and nothing further was done to it till 1855, when, the canal having been taken over by the Irrigation depart- ment, the channel was again put into working order. The Lower Sohag Canal has a bed-width of 90 feet, and an authorized discharge of 1,420 cubic feet per second. It may be said to date from 1816, when the first attempt to irrigate was made by means of a dam across the Sohag nullah, which caused it to overflow its banks. In 1831 another dam was made, and the water was led on to the lands of Jawand Singh at Dipalpur, who is said to have obtained a large return from the water. After some fighting the dam was demolished in 1835 ; and from that date the canal existed only in name, irrigation being effected on only 3,000 acres by lifts by means of a narrow cut 20 feet wide. In 1885-6 the present regular canal was opened. The canal follows generally the Sohag nullah for 33 miles, till it gives off the Para nullah. The canal continues in the form of two branches, one along the Para nullah and the other along the Sohag nullah. The channel, however, was not formed in the bed, but consists of an artificial cut, which is crossed and recrossed by the tortuous dry nullahs. The canal was constructed mainly for the purpose of bringing under cultivation 142 square miles of Government waste. This area was colonized by allotting parcels of land to chosen peasants from adjacent over-populated Districts. For the purpose of allotment the land was divided into squares, 27.7 acres in area, and each allotment consisted of 4 squares or in acres. The canals being dry in the cold season, the colonists were required to construct wells, at least one well per holding being necessary.
