The Sirhind Canal is a large irrigation canal that carries water from the

Sutlej River The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is one of the oldest and biggest irrigation works in the

Indus river The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

system, and was inaugurated in 1882 CE. The canal begins at Ropar headworks near

Ropar Rupnagar (; formerly known as Ropar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. Rupnagar is a newly created fifth Divisional Headquarters of Punjab comprising Rupnagar, Mohali, and its adjoining distr ...

city in

Rupnagar district Rupnagar district is one of twenty-two districts in the state of Punjab, India. The city of Rupnagar is said to have been founded by a Raja called Rokeshar, who ruled during the 11th century and named it after his son Rup Sen. It is also the ...

of Punjab.

Geography of the canal

The Sirhind Canal begins at Ropar and heads southwest to Doraha in

Ludhiana district Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters. The main industries are ...

. At Doraha, the canal splits into three: the Abohar branch, the

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth l ...

branch and the

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

branch. Each of these further subdivides extensively to irrigate a large swathe of the

Malwa region Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

of Punjab. Once a partially arid zone, this area is now extremely fertile due to the water distributed by the canal network.

References

Canals in Punjab, India Canals opened in 1882 Fatehgarh Sahib district {{PunjabIN-geo-stub

Geography of the canal

See also

References