Marala Headworks is a headworks situated on the Chenab River near the city of Sialkot in Gujrat district in Punjab, Pakistan. A weir was first built during 1906–1912 in the British India to feed the Upper Chenab Canal, as part of the 'Triple Canals Project'.[2] A new Marala Barrage was constructed in 1968 to feed the Marala–Ravi Link Canal in addition to the original Upper Chenab Canal.[3]

Marala Headworks
مرالہ ہیڈ ورکس
A view of Marala Headworks
32°40′24″N 74°27′50″E / 32.67333°N 74.46389°E / 32.67333; 74.46389
WaterwayChenab River
CountryPakistan
CountyMarala, Gujrat District
Maintained byPunjab Irrigation Department
OperationHydraulic
First built1912
Latest built1968
Length500,000 feet (150 km)
Fall15 feet (4.6 m)
Above sea level820 feet (250 m)
Discharge capacity Up to 1.1 million cusec[1]

History

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Marala headworks in 1915
 
 
5km
3miles
 
Tawi river
 
Manawar Tawi river
 
Chenab river
 
Upper Chenab Canal
 
Marala–Ravi Link Canal
 
Marala Headworks
Marala Headworks

The original headworks near Marala along with the Upper Chenab Canal were built as part of the Triple Canals Project of the British India during 1906–1912.[4] The canal was meant to irrigate an area of 648,000 acres in the Gujranwala District as well as to transfer waters to the Ravi River near Balloki. It was opened in 1912 and fully completed by 1917 at a cost of  37 million PKR.[2] It became profitable in 1938–39.[5]

The waters transferred to the Ravi River were further fed to the Lower Bari Doab Canal via the Balloki Headworks, irrigating the Montgomery and the Multan districts.[2] This canal became profitable at least a decade earlier than the Upper Chenab Canal.[5] The waters of the Ravi River itself were left to irrigate the semi-arid states of Bikaner and Bahawalpur. The link canal concept initiated in the Triple Canals Project eventually became the basis for the Indus Waters Treaty after the independence of India and Pakistan.[6]

The Marala–Ravi Link Canal was constructed between 1952–1956 in the wake of the Indo-Pakistani water dispute of 1948, when Pakistan became apprehensive of water security on the Ravi and the Sutlej rivers.[4][7] This canal transfers 623 cusecs of water to the Ravi River in order to satisfy the requirements of Balloki and Sulemanki headworks.[4]

Characteristics

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Marala Headworks is a large hydro engineering project and is used to control water flow and flood control in the River Chenab.

Geography

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The Chenab River is a 1,086 kilometres (675 mi) long river which originates from Chandra Taal in the Lahul & Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh in India where it is known as the Chenab River after the two tributaries. Chandra and Bhaga, join at Tandi in the Lahul & Spiti district and acquires the name Chenab when it enters Jammu and Kashmir, near Kishtwar in India. After cutting across the Pir Panjal Range, India it enters the Sialkot District in the Pakistan. Here the Marala Barrage was built across the river in 1968 with a maximum discharge of 1.1 million ft³/s (31,000 m³/s). Two major water channels originate at the Marala headworks—the Marala ravi link canal and the Upper Chenab Canal. Proposals are under consideration to build Mangla Marala Link Canal to overcome any shortage of water in future.

Marala Headworks is also a picnic spot, a wildlife sanctuary and an unprotected wetland.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Report, Dawn (7 September 2014). "Flood peak from Jammu threatens key barrages". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Naqvi, Indus Waters and Social Change (2012), p. 24.
  3. ^ Singh, Irrigation and Soil Salinity in the Indian Subcontinent (2005), p. 115.
  4. ^ a b c Shakir, Abdul Sattar; Khan, Noor M. (2009), "Impact of Structural Interventions on Sediment Management of Large Canals: A Case Study of Marala Barrage, Pakistan", Water Resources Management, 23 (15): 3149–3163, Bibcode:2009WatRM..23.3149S, doi:10.1007/s11269-009-9427-0, S2CID 153763960
  5. ^ a b Naqvi, Indus Waters and Social Change (2012), p. 25.
  6. ^ Chaturvedi, India's Waters: Environment (2011), pp. 203–204.
  7. ^ Gilmartin, Blood and Water (2020), p 308, note 88.

Bibliography

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