The Indira Gandhi Canal (originally, Rajasthan Canal) is the longest canal in India. It starts at the Harike Barrage near Harike, a few kilometers downriver from the confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers in Punjab state, and ends in irrigation facilities in the Thar Desert in the northwest of Rajasthan state. Previously known as the Rajasthan Canal, it was renamed the Indira Gandhi Canal on 2 November 1984 following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The canal consists of the Rajasthan feeder canal with the first 167 km in Punjab and Haryana state and a further 37 km in Rajasthan. This is followed by the 445 km of the Rajasthan main canal, which is entirely within Rajasthan. The canal enters Haryana from Punjab near Lohgarh and runs through the western part of the Sirsa district before entering Rajasthan near Kharakhera village in the Tibbi tehsil of the Hanumangarh district. It traverses seven districts of Rajasthan: Barmer, Bikaner, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Sriganganagar. The main canal is 445 km long, which is 1458 RD (reduced distance). From 1458 RD, a 96 km long branch starts, known as the Sagar Mal Gopa Branch or the SMGS. From the end point of SMGS, another 92-kilometer-long sub-branch starts, the last of the Baba Ramdev sub-branch. It ends near Gunjangarh village in Jaisalmer district.

Design and construction

The idea of bringing the waters from the Himalayan Rivers flowing through Punjab and into Pakistan was conceived by hydraulic engineer Kanwar Sain in the late 1940s. Sain estimated that 2000000 ha of desert land in Bikaner and the northwest corner of Jaisalmer could be irrigated by the stored waters of Punjab rivers. In 1960, the Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan, which gave India the right to use the water from three rivers: the Satluj, Beas and Ravi. The proposed Rajasthan Canal envisioned use of 7,600000 acre-ft of water. The initial plan was to build the canal in two stages. Stage I consisted of a 204 km feeder canal from Harike barrage, Firozpur, Punjab to Masitawali (Hanumangarh) with the main canal of 189 km from Masitawali (Hanumangarh) to Pugal, (Bikaner) in Rajasthan. Stage I also included constructing a distributary canal system of about 2950 km in length. Stage II involved constructing a 256 km long main canal from Pugal (Bikaner) to Mohangarh (Jaisalmer) along with a distributary canal network of 3600 km. The main canal was planned to be 140 ft wide at the top and 116 ft wide at the bottom with a water depth of 21 ft. It was scheduled to be completed by 1971. The canal faced severe financial constraints, neglect and corruption. In 1970 the plan was revised and it was decided that the entire canal would be lined with concrete tiles. Five more lift schemes were added and the flow command of Stage II was increased by 100000 ha. With increased requirements, the total length of main, feeder and distribution canals was about 9245 km. Stage I was completed in 1983 around 20 years behind the completion schedule.

Effect on the region

After the construction of the Indira Gandhi Canal, irrigation facilities were available over an area of 6770 km2 in Jaisalmer district and 37 km2 in Barmer district. Irrigation had already been provided in an area of 3670 km2 in Jaisalmer district. Mustard, cotton, and wheat now grows in this semi-arid northwestern region, replacing the soil there previously. However, many dispute the success of this canal in arid regions and question whether it has achieved its goals.

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