Head Taunsa Barrage is a barrage on the

River Indus 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 Kashmi ...

in Taunsa district of

Dera Ghazi Khan District Dera Ghazi Khan (Urdu and pnb, , Saraiki: , bal, ڈیرہ غازی خان) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. Most of its inhabitants are Saraikis and Baloch. The district lies t ...

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

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 ...

.High flood at Taunsa barrage alarms authorities
Dawn (newspaper), Published 22 July 2015, Retrieved 6 November 2017 It is situated southeast of

Taunsa Sharif Taunsa (Urdu, Balochi, Punjabi, Saraiki: ) is a city in Taunsa District of Punjab province of Pakistan and capital of this district. Location Taunsa is located on the Karachi-Peshawar Highway, which is also known as Indus Highway. It is appro ...

and from district

Kot Addu Kot Addu ( ur, ) is capital city of Kot Addu District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. This city is subdivided into 5 Union Councils

. This barrage controls water flow in the

for irrigation and

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

purposes. Taunsa Barrage was designated a

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) **

Chenab River The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul regi ...

through ''Taunsa-Panjnad Link Canal'' (TP Link Canal). The barrage also serves as an arterial road bridge, a railway bridge, and crossing for gas and oil pipelines, telephone line and extra high voltage (EHV) transmission lines.

Background

Taunsa Barrage was completed in 1958. Head Draftsman Syed Tufail Hussain Shah received Silver Medal from President of Pakistan Field Marshal

Mohammad Ayub Khan Muhammad Ayub Khan ( Urdu: ; 14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974), was the second President of Pakistan. He was an army general who seized the presidency from Iskander Mirza in a coup in 1958, the first successful coup d'état in the country' ...

on their commendable services rendered on the completion of Taunsa Barrage on March 3, 1959. The canal system fed by the barrage initially consisted of Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan Khan canals. The former was completed in 1960 and is in operation since then, while the latter although opened in 1958 continued to remain under construction in some later years. TP Link canal was added in 1970, as a component work o. . Taunsa Barrage has been identified as the Barrage (dam), 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. Taunsa Barrage is one of the most vulnerable water diversion projects built on Indus River. In April 2004, 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 Inte ...

approved a $123 million loan to

to rehabilitate the Taunsa Barrage on the River Indus whose structure had been damaged owing to soil erosion 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 ...

canals, and through the TP Link Canal that supplements the water supply to Panjnad headworks canals. In 2011, the rehabilitation of the Taunsa Barrage was blamed for devastation of the Muzaffargarh district during the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...

.What went wrong at Taunsa
Dawn (newspaper), Published 13 August 2010, Retrieved 6 November 2017 Critics blamed the rehabilitation of the barrage, alleging that it failed to raise its height and strengthen protective embankments, used dysfunctional computer control system of the hoist gates and ignored hill-torrent management.

References

Irrigation in Pakistan Locks (water navigation) Dams in Pakistan Ramsar sites in Pakistan Dams completed in 1958 Dams on the Indus River {{Asia-dam-stub

Background

See also

References