Upper Swat Canal

Last updated

Upper Swat Canal
Amandara Head Works (Batkhela Water Canal Bridge).jpg
Amandara Headworks, the canal begins here
Upper Swat Canal
CountryPakistan
Specifications
Length138 miles (222 km)
Maximum height above sea level2,178 ft (664 m)
StatusOpen
History
Principal engineerW.P Sangster
Other engineer(s)John Benton
Date approved1907
Date of first use1914
Date completed1916
Geography
Start pointAmandara Headworks, Batkhela, Malakand
End point Pehur High Level Canal

Upper Swat Canal is an irrigation canal located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The canal takes off from Swat River at Amandarra Headworks in Malakand District. It irrigates a large area in the north of Mardan District, Swabi District and the north-eastern portion of the Charsadda District. [1] The irrigation area is 276,000 acres of land and discharge is 1,800 cusecs. [2] The length of the main canals is 138 miles and that of the distributaries is 431 miles. [1]

Contents

History

Background

During the expansion of the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent, the Malakand Pass was a point of battle in 1897 between the British Army and the local tribesmen who showed heavy resistance. In 1907, the British Empire conceived the Benton Tunnel and Upper Swat Canal project to irrigate the dry Valley of Peshawar and to appease and improve their image among the local tribes. [3]

Original alignment

After completing preliminary work, surveys, acquiring land and selecting alignments, it was found that the alignment of the main canal from Chakdara to Malakand District was interfered by graveyards, hence it had to be abandoned. This alignment consisted of a 5,000 feet long tunnel, with a slope of 1/100, velocity of 15.2 feet per second and a discharge of 2,394 cusecs. [4]

New alignment

A new alignment was soon found, however the new alignment included a longer tunnel through the Malakand Pass. The costs were cut by constructing a shorter and more direct main canal. [4] The new tunnel was 11,235 feet (2 miles) long, with a slope of 1:215, velocity of 11.2 feet per second and a discharge of 2,218 cusecs. [5]

Execution

Work on the tunnel began in March 1910 [5] and was completed in 1914 (now called Benton Tunnel), [3] with irrigation in the region commencing the same year. The Upper Swat Canal was declared complete by the British Empire in late 1916 and the cost was "206 lakhs of Rupees" or Rs20.6 million at the time. [6] It was supervised and executed by Executive Engineer of the North-West Frontier Province at the time, W.P Sangster. [7]

Even though the original design of the Upper Swat Canal had a much greater discharge, the Benton Tunnel created a bottleneck due to its unlined nature, hence the total discharge of the canal was limited to 1,800 cusecs. [8]

Impact

The local population began to grow along with the production of wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, fruits and vegetables. Small villages grew into small towns, the local population began to grow Poplar trees along the canal and waterways. They started growing two crops a year instead of one, with most growing three. The canal brought great prosperity to the region and has become an integral part of it. More than one million people directly or indirectly depend on the Upper Swat Canal for their livelihood. [9]

The canal transformed the Peshawar Division from a rainfed to a canal irrigated area. [1]

Restoration works

Between 1990 and 1999 the Government of Pakistan spent roughly US$130 million to upgrade the existing system of the Upper Swat Canal and the Lower Swat Canal by improving surface and subsurface drainage, remodelling the irrigation system, renovating watercourses and providing support facilities. [10] The project also involved the creation of an auxiliary tunnel to overcome the Benton Tunnel's bottleneck. [8]

See also

List of canals in Pakistan

Lower Bari Doab Canal

Nara Canal

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mardan District</span> District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Mardan District is a district in the Mardan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The district is named after Mardan city, which is also the headquarters of the district. The district is famous for its agriculture industry and its archaeological sites, specifically of Takht-i-Bhai, Jamal Garhi and Sawal Dher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swat District</span> District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Swat District, also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per the 2023 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dargai is one of the tehsils of Malakand District in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It located on the main highway from Peshawar to Swat, Dir and Chitral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malakand Pass</span> Mountain pass in Pakistan

The Malakand Pass is a mountain pass in the Malakand District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that connects Peshawar with the Chitral District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malakand Division</span> Administrative division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Malakand Division is an administrative division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Malakand is the second-largest division by population while Mingora, its capital, is the third largest city in the province. CNIC code of Malakand Division is 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Dir District</span> District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan

Lower Dir District is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Timergara is the district's headquarters and largest city. The Lower Dir district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was divided into Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. On 22 January 2023, both Lower Dir and Upper Dir districts were further bifurcated to create a new Central Dir District. Lower Dir is famous for its beautiful snow-capped mountains, valleys, and pleasant weather. The primary industry in Lower Dir is tourism, which is now rapidly growing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swat River</span> River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The Swat River is a perennial river in the northern region of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The river's source is in the high glacial valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains, where it then flows into the Kalam Valley before forming the spine of the wider Swat Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malakand District</span> District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan

Malakand District is a district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Phuleli is an irrigation and wastewater canal in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan, which also provides water for Badin and Tando Muhammad Khan Districts. Built in 1955 to address the irrigation and municipal water needs of the left bank regions of lower Sindh, the non-perennial canal operates with a discharge capacity of 15.000 cubic feet of water per second (CUSEC). Phuleli canal begins at the Ghulam Muhammad (Kotri) Barrage, on the left side of the Indus River, and runs roughly 1162 km around and through the outskirts of Hyderabad, Sindh province's second-largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marala Headworks</span> Barrage in Punjab, Pakistan

Marala Headworks is a headworks situated on the Chenab River near the city of Sialkot in Gujrat district in Punjab, Pakistan. A weir was first built during 1906–1912 in the British India to feed the Upper Chenab Canal, as part of the 'Triple Canals Project'. A new Marala Barrage was constructed in 1968 to feed the Marala–Ravi Link Canal in addition to the original Upper Chenab Canal.

Dhakki is a town and union council of Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°18'17N 71°46'24E and has an altitude of 359 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malakand Agency</span> Administrative division of British India and later Pakistan

The Malakand Agency was one of the agencies in the North West Frontier Province of British India and later of Pakistan until 2010. It included the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat, and an area around the Malakand Pass known as the Malakand Protected Area. The largest city in the area was Mingora, while the three state capitals were Chitral, Dir, and Saidu Sharif. In 1970, following the abolition of the princely states, the agency became the Malakand Division, which was divided into districts, one of which was the Malakand Protected Area, known as Malakand District. In 2000 the Malakand Division was abolished. Despite the constitutional changes since 1970, the expression Malakand Agency is still used, sometimes of the entire area of the former Agency, but more often of Malakand District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batkhela</span> City in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Batkhela is a city, tehsil and the district headquarter of the Malakand District within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the population of Batkhela was recorded at 68,200. Batkhela is considered as one of the most popular business cities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A water canal that pours into a small dam in the Jabban area near Batkhela is the main source of electricity production here.

Rasul Barrage is a barrage on the River Jehlum between Jhelum District and Mandi Bahauddin District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is situated 72 km downstream of Mangla Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narmada Canal</span> River in Rajasthan, India

The Narmada Canal is a contour canal in Western India that brings water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the state of Gujarat and then into Rajasthan state. The main canal has a length of 532 kilometres (331 mi). It is the second longest canal in India and the largest canal by water carrying capacity. The main canal is connected with 42 branch canals providing irrigation to 2,129,000 hectares farmland. The canal is designed to transfer 9.5 million acre-feet water annually from the Narmada Basin to areas under other river basins in Gujarat and Rajasthan..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shergarh, Mardan</span> Place in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Shergarh is a town in Takht Bhai tehsil of Mardan District on the edge with Malakand District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It located 12 km from Takht Bhai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Left Bank Outfall Drain is a drainage canal in Pakistan. Built between 1987 and 1997 using funding from the World Bank, the canal collects saline water, industrial effluents and Indus river basin floodwater from more than two million hectares of land of Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and Badin districts located in Nara River basin into the Arabian Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soan Dam</span> Proposed dam in Potohar region, Pakistan

Soan Dam is a proposed dam on the Soan River in the Potohar region of Pakistan. The dam has a proposed storage capacity of 38 million acre-feet and a power generation capacity of 5,240 megawatts (MW). The dam is being proposed to address the water scarcity, Flood control/harvesting, energy crisis and Economic recovery of Pakistan.

The Warsak Canal Project is an initiative focused on enhancing agricultural practices in the Peshawar and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 N.-W.F. Province Gazetteers. Vol. 6. North-west Frontier Province (Pakistan) (published 26 July 2008). 1931. p. 200.
  2. ↑ "Reconstruction of Upper Swat Canal System – Planning & Development" . Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 Laycock, Adrian (2011). Irrigation Systems: Design, Planning and Construction (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: CAB International. p. 19. ISBN   9781845938741.
  4. 1 2 Engineering Conference, Simla: 1913 ... Vol. 2. India: Superintendent Government Printing, India (published 19 April 2012). 1915. p. 333.
  5. 1 2 "Indian Industries and Power," Incorporating "Indian Motor News" ... Vol. 10. India. 1913. p. 490.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ Irrigation in India: Review for ... Printed at the Government Monotype Press (published 13 July 2023). 1918. pp. 53–54.
  7. ↑ Proceedings. India: Superintendent of Government printing. 1915. p. 14.
  8. 1 2 Report, Recorder (5 August 2023). "USC System: KP farmers hit by accumulation of silt, sand in fields". Brecorder. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Laycock, Adrian (2011). Irrigation Systems: Design, Planning and Construction (2nd ed.). United Kingdom: CAB International. pp. 19–21. ISBN   9781845938741.
  10. ↑ https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-documents//pcr-pak-21125.pdf

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.