Sutlej Inundation Canals, Lower
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 Inundation Canals, Lower
An Imperial system of inundation canals in the Punjab, taking off from the right bank of the Sutlej and irrigating part of Multan District. They were for the most part constructed in the middle of the eighteenth century by the Daud- putras, a powerful tribe who were in possession of this part of the country from the downfall of the Mughals to the rise of Ranjit Singh ; but one of the largest, the Diwanwah, was excavated in 1831 by Dlwan Sawan Mai, who also enlarged and improved several others. Excluding the Hajiwah canal, whose history is separate from that of the rest, there were 19 of these canals in 1850; these, however, have been gradually amalgamated, and in 1903 there were only three — the Mailsi, Muhammadwah-Sardarwah, and Bahawalwah-Lodhran canals — of which the last two will probably be amalgamated. The gross cultiv- able area commanded by these canals is 1,414 square miles, of which 424 are at present irrigable. The canals generally flow from April to October ; but since the Sirhind Canal came into full operation the supply of water at the commencement and end of the flood season has been considerably reduced, and the actual area irrigated in the five years ending 1903-4 was only 263 square miles. The normal autumn crop is sown and matured with canal water alone ; but for the spring harvest only the preliminary waterings required for ploughing and sowing are given from the canal, and further irrigation is supplied from wells. The maximum discharge is 5,000 cubic feet per second, and the total length of main canals is 394 miles and of distributaries 328 miles. Properly designed channels are of only recent construc- tion, and have still to be provided on the Mailsi canal. Until recently canal clearance was effected by the labour of the cultivators ; this system was, however, finally abolished in 1903 and rates are now paid. No capital account is kept for these canals. The gross revenue for the three years ending 1903-4 averaged 3-8 lakhs, and the net revenue Rs. 83,000,
The Hajiwah canal is included in the Lower Sutlej system. It was a private canal constructed in the time of Ranjit Singh, and its administration was taken over by Government in 1888 in consequence of the mismanagement of the owners. This action was authorized by the terms of a deed executed in 1886, under which Government had given the owners a grant of 60,000 acres of land served by the canal, and it was upheld by the Privy Council in 1901. The canal has a bed- width of 30 feet, an average supply during the flood season of 500 cubic feet per second, and a length of 39 miles. The average area irrigated is only 53 square miles, as the alignment is defective.
