Indus basin irrigation system

Indus basin irrigation system

• 1.
  Indus Basin IrrigationSystem Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS) is the world largest irrigation system and Pakistan is blessed with this irrigation system. Indus Basin Irrigation System irrigates around 45 million acres of farm land. Credit goes to British irrigation engineers who created the original system and in 1947 Pakistan inherited this system and to Pakistani Irrigation engineers who added new dams and barrages from last 70 years. It comprises of 44 canals of which 23 in Punjab, 14 in Sindh, 2 in Baluchistan and remaining 5 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Origin of Indus Basin The water of Indus basin begins in the Himalayan Mountains of disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. They flow from mountains towards Gilgit Baltistan and then flows in south direction along entire Pakistan and emptying into Arabian Sea south of Karachi. Silent Features of IBIS  There are 3 major reservoirs  IBIS consist of 19 Barrages  Total number of Headworks are 2  There are 12 inter link canals operating  IBIS comprises of 44 canals. Water to entire Indus Basin Irrigation System is supplied by main five rivers namely Indus, Jehlum, Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab. It is also aided by number of smaller rivers. Reservoirs Three major reservoirs operates on Indus Basin Irrigation System. Tarbela and Chashma on River Indus whereas Mangla on river Jehlum. Mangla Reservoir Mangla dam is located on River Jhelum in Mirpur Azad Kashmir. This dam is used for multipurpose, one of them is for Irrigation. Mangla dam was the first dam to strengthen the irrigation system of entire country with storage capacity of 7.39 MAF.
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  Tarbela Reservoir Tarbela damis located on River Indus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This dam was designed to store water from Indus River for Irrigation, flood control and hydroelectric power. The storage capacity of Tarbela dam was 9.679 MAF but due to sediments it is reduced to 6.434 MAF. Chashma Reservoir Chashma reservoir is located on River Indus in Mianwali District of Punjab. This reservoir is used for irrigation purpose and power generation with storage capacity of 0.87 MAF. Barrages Irrigation system of Pakistan consist of 19 barrages. Following is the list of these barrages.  Chashma barrage on Indus River in Mianwali District.  Taunsa barrage on Indus River in Muzaffargarh District. This barrage serves 2.351 MA.  Jinnah barrage on Indus River near Kalabagh irrigates 1,900,000acres.  Guddu barrage on Indus River near Kashmoor Sindh.  Sukkur barrage on Indus River near Sukkur city Sindh.  Kotri barrage on Indus River near Hyderabad.  Rasul barrage on River Jhelum between Jhelum District and Mandi Bahauddin District.  Marala barrage on River Chenab near city Gujrat and Sialkot.  Khanki Barrage on River Chenab in Gujranwala District.  Qadirabad barrage on River Chenab in Hafiz Abad District.  Trimmu barrage on Chenab River in Jhang District.  Panjnad barrage on River Chenab irrigates 1.8325 million acers.  Balloki barrage on Ravi River in Punjab.  Sidhnai barrage on River Ravi near Multan.  Sulemanki barrage on River Sutlej in Punjab.  Islam barrage on River Sutlej near Hasilpur Town.  Mailsi barrage is constructed on River Sutlej.  Ghazi Brotha on Indus River  Munda barrage on River Swat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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  Link Canals Link canalsare used to divert water from one river to another. There are 12 link canals for Indus Basin Irrigation System. Detail is given below:  Chashma-Jhelum link canal joins the Jhelum and Indus River.  Tauns-Punjnad link canal takes off from Taunsa on the Indus and transfer water from the Indus to the Chenab.  Marala-Ravi link canal links Chenab and Ravi.  Upper Chenab-Ravi link canal links Chenab with Ravi.  Rasul-Qadirabad link canal link between Jhelum and Chenab.  Qadirabad-Balloki link canal transfer water from Chenab to Ravi.  Balloki-Sulemanki link canal connect Ravi with Sutlej.  Trimmu-Sidhnai link canal transfer water from Chenab via Trimmu barrage to Ravi.  Sidhnai-Mailsi link canal originates from River Ravi and joins Sutlej Ravi at Mailsi.  Mailsi-Bahawal link canal originates from Mailsi and supplies water to Bahawal canal.  Abasia link canal originates from River Chenab at Panjnad barrage.  Bambanwala, Ravi and Bedian link canal, three rivers are linked Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. Water Availability  The average annual flow of western rivers of Indus basin is about 142 MAF. From 142 MAF, 104 MAF water is diverted for irrigation purpose and remaining 35 MAF outflows to Arabian Sea.  Another source of water is rainfall.  The third source of water is ground water. Issues  For every province there is shortage of at least 30% funds for irrigation system.  Indus basin is now facing wear and tear due to which its efficiency is reduced by 50%. Major portion of water is wasted due to poor maintenance.  Wastage of water is creating salinity and water logging issues which has reduced storage capacity.
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   Aged farmerswho are in the field of agriculture from several decades have lack of education due to which they are unaware of new technologies.