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Agra Canal | |
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Country | India |
Specifications | |
Length | 140 [1] miles (230 km) |
Lock length | 120 ft |
Lock width | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
Locks | One |
Maximum height above sea level | 659 ft (201 m) |
History | |
Construction began | 1868 [1] |
Date completed | 1874 |
Date closed | 1904 |
Geography | |
Start point | Okhla barrage |
Beginning coordinates | 28°34′N77°18′E / 28.567°N 77.300°E |
The Agra Canal is an important Indian irrigation work which starts from Okhla in Delhi. The Agra canal originates at the Okhla barrage, downstream of Nizamuddin bridge. [2]
The canal receives its water from the Yamuna River at Okhla, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the south of New Delhi. The weir across the Yamuna was constructed of locally quarried stone. [1] It was about 800 yards (730 m) long, and rises seven feet above the summer level of the river.
From Okhla the canal follows a route south then southeast for 140 miles (230 km) in the high land between the Khari-Nadi and the Yamuna and finally joins the Utanga River about 27 miles (43 km) below Agra. [1] Navigable branches connect the canal with Mathura and Agra. [3] The canal irrigates about 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) in Agra, and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Faridabad in Haryana, Bharatpur in Rajasthan and also some parts of Delhi.
The canal opened in the year 1874. In the beginning, it was available for navigation, in Delhi, erstwhile Gurgaon, Mathura and Agra Districts, and Bharatpur State. Later, navigation was stopped in 1904 and the canal has, since then, been exclusively used for irrigation purposes only. At present, the canal does not flow in Gurgaon district, but only in Faridabad, which was earlier a part of Gurgaon.
In recent times, Agra canal is an important landmark which separates Greater Faridabad from Faridabad.
Haryana is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% of India's land area. The state capital is Chandigarh, which it shares with the neighboring state of Punjab, and the most populous city is Faridabad, which is a part of the National Capital Region. The city of Gurugram is among India's largest financial and technology hubs. Haryana has 6 administrative divisions, 22 districts, 72 sub-divisions, 93 revenue tehsils, 50 sub-tehsils, 140 community development blocks, 154 cities and towns, 7,356 villages, and 6,222 villages panchayats.
The Yamuna, also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about 4,500 m (14,800 ft) on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Lower Himalaya in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of 1,376 kilometres (855 mi) and has a drainage system of 366,223 square kilometres (141,399 sq mi), 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin. It merges with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, which is a site of the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival held every 12 years.
Doab is a term used in South Asia for the tract of land lying between two confluent rivers. It is similar to an interfluve. In the Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, R. S. McGregor defines it as from Persian do-āb "a region lying between and reaching to the confluence of two rivers.
The Ganges Canal or Ganga Canal is a canal system that irrigates the Doab region between the Ganges River and the Yamuna River in India.
Bharatpur District is a district in Rajasthan state in western India. The town of Bharatpur is the District Headquarters, Division Headquarters and Headquarters of Bharatpur Police Range of Rajasthan Police. Bharatpur District is a part of National Capital Region of India Delhi.
Delhi has significant reliance on its transport infrastructure. The city seeks to develop a highly efficient public transport system with the introduction of the Delhi Metro, which is undergoing a rapid modernization and expansion as of 2006. There are 16.6 million registered vehicles in the city as of 30 June 2014, which is the highest in the world among all cities, most of which do not follow any pollution emission norm, while the Delhi metropolitan region has 11.2 million vehicles. Delhi and NCR lose nearly 42 crore man-hours every month while commuting between home and office through public transport, due to the traffic congestion. Therefore, serious efforts, including a number of transport infrastructure projects, are under way to encourage usage of public transport in the city.
Okhla is a suburban village located near Okhla barrage in the South East Delhi district of Delhi near the border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Its nearest industrial area called commonly as Okhla Industrial Area (OIA) or Okhla Industrial Estate, an industrial suburb in South Delhi which is mainly divided into three Phases. It stands for Old Kanal Housing and Land Authority. Okhla has lent its name to the nearby planned township of New Okhla Industrial Development Authority or NOIDA. Okhla is also an assembly constituency.
Delhi, a major metropolitan region of India, is connected to various parts of country through several national highways and expressways. All the highways and expressways from Delhi lead to Haryana or Uttar Pradesh and continue from there.
Agra Fort railway station, is located near Agra Fort, in Rawatpara, Agra. It used to be one of the stations in India that had both broad gauge and metre gauge, until the line to Jaipur was converted to broad gauge. Agra Fort railway station comes under the North Central Railways.
Palwal district was created on 15 August 2008. It is the 21st district of Haryana state in northern India. Palwal City is the headquarters of the district. It is part of the Braj region.
Sur Sarovar, often referred to as Keetham Lake, is a picturesque lake off the Agra-Delhi route. The Agra Bear Rescue Facility, a facility for saving Sloth bears dedicated to rehabilitate previously captured "dancing bears," is located next to it. Since 2020, the lake has been recognised as a Ramsar site that is protected.
Okhla Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary at the Okhla barrage over Yamuna River. It is situated in Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar district, on Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border and known as a haven for over 300 bird species, especially waterbirds. In 1990, an area of 3.5 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) on the river Yamuna was designated a bird sanctuary by the Government of Uttar Pradesh under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The site is located at the point where the river enters Uttar Pradesh. The most prominent feature of the sanctuary is the large lake created by damming the river, which lies between Okhla village to the west and Gautam Budh Nagar to the east. The Okhla Bird Sanctuary (OBS) is roughly 4 square kilometres in size and is situated at the entrance of NOIDA in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated at a point where river Yamuna enters in the state of Uttar Pradesh leaving the territory of Delhi. It is one among fifteen bird sanctuaries in the state.
The Kanpur–Delhi section is a railway line connecting Kanpur Central and Delhi. This section includes Agra Chord and Etah link. The main line is part of Howrah–Delhi main line and Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line. The Agra–Delhi chord is part of Delhi–Mumbai line and Delhi–Chennai line.
Mathura Junction railway station is an important station on Agra–Delhi chord of Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Chennai lines. It is located in Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the important North-Central Railway station. It serves Mathura and Vrindavan. Premium Trains usually skip this station.
Western Yamuna Canal is canal in river Yamuna that was dug out and renovated in 1335 CE by Firoz Shah Tughlaq. In 1750 CE, excessive silting caused it to stop flowing. The British raj undertook a three-year renovation in 1817 by Captain GR Blane of the Bengal Engineer Group. In 1832-33 Tajewala Barrage dam at Yamuna was also built to regulate the flow of water, and later Pathrala barrage at Dadupur and Somb river dam downstream of canal were constructed in 1875-76. In 1889-95 the largest branch of the canal Sirsa branch was constructed. The modern Hathni Kund Barrage was built in 1999 to handle the problem of silting to replace the older Tajewala Barrage.
The Okhla barrage is a 791 meters or roughly 800-yard long weir across Yamuna River opened in 1874. It also serves as the location of Okhla Bird Sanctuary today. It is situated 10 km to the south of New Delhi and downstream of Nizamuddin bridge at Okhla, where Agra canal originates from it. The top of barrage also serves as the Delhi-Noida carriageway of Kalindi Kunj-Mithapur road. Nearby later-era New Okhla Barrage is 554 meters long.
The ITO barrage, also Indraprastha barrage and ITO Bridge, is a 552 meter barrage on Yamuna River, top of which also serves as the bridge on the Paharganj-Gaziabad Vikas marg. Yamuna flows for 48 km in Delhi, including 22 km from Wazirabad barrage where it enters Delhi to Okhla barrage after which it enters Haryana. Upstream barrage from ITO barrage in Delhi is Wazirabad barrage (north) and downstream is Okhla barrage (south). Yamuna has a total of 6 barrages, from north-west to south-east, Dakpathar Barrage (Uttarakhand), Hathni Kund Barrage, Wazirabad barrage, ITO barrage, Okhla barrage and Mathura barrage.
The Palla barrage is a barrage located in Palla on the Yamuna-Faridabad canal in Faridabad district of Haryana state in India. This irrigation canal runs to the west of Yaumna through Fridabad, Palwal, Mathura and Agra districts where it terminates in the farms. Palla, Faridabad is not to be confused with Palla, Delhi, a Yamuna pollution monitoring station 23 km upstream of Wazirabad barrage.
The Gokul barrage, also Mathura barrage is a barrage on Yamuna River at Gokul in Mathura district, top of which also serves as the road bridge.
DND–Faridabad–KMP Expressway (Delhi–Faridabad–Sohna) is an under-construction 59 km long, 6-lane wide access-controlled expressway in Delhi NCR, India. It will connect the junction of DND Flyway and Ring Road at Maharani Bagh in Delhi with KMP Expressway at Khalilpur village, Nuh district in Haryana. Now, it is a part of Delhi–Mumbai Expressway project. This expressway will have an additional 31 km long spur link from Sector-65, Faridabad bypass to Jewar Airport.
The Agra Canal also has many places to visit along its coast.