Taunsa District
Taunsa District (Urdu, Balochi, Punjabi, Saraiki: ) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan.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 ...
province of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and capital of this district.
Location
Taunsa is located on the Karachi-Peshawar Highway, which is also known as
Indus Highway
The Indus Highway ( ur, ), also known as National Highway 55 (N-55) ( ur, ), is a 1264 km long two to four-lane national highway that runs along the Indus River in Pakistan connecting the port city of Karachi with the northwestern city ...
. It is approximately from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
, from
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
, and from
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
. Taunsa is also the location of one of the headworks on 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, ...
called
Taunsa Barrage
Head Taunsa Barrage is a barrage on the River Indus in Taunsa district of Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab province of Pakistan.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, ...
called
Taunsa Barrage
Head Taunsa Barrage is a barrage on the River Indus in Taunsa district of Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab province of Pakistan.Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
barrage with the highest priority for rehabilitation. It requires urgent measures to avoid severe economic and social impacts on the lives of millions of poor farmers through interruption of irrigation on two million acres (8,000 km²) and drinking water in the rural areas of southern Punjab, benefiting several million farmers.
In 2003, the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
approved a $123 million loan to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to rehabilitate the Taunsa Barrage on the River Indus whose structure had been damaged owing to soil erosions and old-age. The project was designed to ensure irrigation of the cultivated lands in the area of the
Muzaffargarh
Muzaffargarh (Urdu and pa, , , Fort of Muzaffar) is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River, it is the capital of the district with the same name. It is the 39th largest city of Pakistan by populatio ...
and
Dera Ghazi Khan Tehsil
Dera Ghazi Khan ( ur, ), is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) of Dera Ghazi Khan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The capital of the tehsil is Dera Ghazi Khan.
History
Dera Ghazi Khan Tehsil was created as a subdivision of Dera ...
Dera Ghazi khan canal /ref> canals, and through the Taunsa-Panjnad Link Canal that supplements the water supply to
Panjnad
The Panjnad River ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a river at the extreme end of Bahawalpur district in Punjab, Pakistan. The name ''Panjnad'' means "five rivers", from Persian ''panj'' ("five") and Sanskrit ''nadī́'' ("river").The Panjnad River is for ...
head-works canals.
Taunsa Barrage also serves to provide for a variety of fish, which contributes towards fulfilling the food related needs of area.