Marala Headworks is a headworks situated on the

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 ...

near the city of

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

. A

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

was first built during 1906–1912 in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

to feed the Upper Chenab Canal, as part of the 'Triple Canals Project'. A new Marala Barrage was constructed in 1968 to feed the Marala–Ravi Link Canal in addition to the original Upper Chenab Canal.

History

The original headworks near Marala along with the Upper Chenab Canal were built as part of the Triple Canals Project of British India during 1906–1912. The canal was meant to irrigate an area of 648,000 acres in the

Gujranwala District Gujranwala District (Punjabi and ur, ), is a district that is a part of the Majha region in Punjab, Pakistan. Gujranwala District is bordered by the districts of Gujrat, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad and Sheikhupura. Gujranwala dist ...

as well as to transfer waters to the

Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...

near Balloki. It was opened in 1912 and fully completed by 1917 at a cost Rs. 37 million. It became profitable in 1938–39. The waters transferred to the Ravi River were further fed to the

Lower Bari Doab Canal The Lower Bari Doab Canal is a canal in Punjab, Pakistan. Part of the part of the second-largest irrigation system of the province, it serves approximately 275,000 farmsteads. It is located south-west of Lahore and runs alongside the River Ravi. ...

via the

Balloki Headworks Head Balloki or Balloki Headworks is a barrage on the Ravi River in the Punjab, Pakistan.it is 70 KM distance from Lahore. It was first built around in 1915 in British India as part of the 'Triple Canals Project' to feed the Lower Bari Doab Canal. ...

, irrigating the Montgomery and

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...

districts. This canal became profitable at least a decade earlier than the Upper Chenab Canal. The waters of the Ravi River itself were left to irrigate the semi-arid states of

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital o ...

and

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

. The link canal concept initiated in the Triple Canals Project eventually became the basis for the

Indus Waters Treaty The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, arranged and negotiated by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries. It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 1960 b ...

after the independence of India and Pakistan. The Marala–Ravi Link Canal was constructed between 1952–1956 in the wake of the

Indo-Pakistani water dispute of 1948 India and Pakistan had a dispute over the sharing of water rights to the Indus River and its tributaries in April 1948, about eight months after their independence. The East Punjab province of India shut off water running to the West Punjab provinc ...

, when Pakistan became apprehensive of

water security Water security is the focused goal of water policy and water management. A society with a high level of water security makes the most of water's benefits for humans and ecosystems and limits the risk of destructive impacts associated with water. T ...

on the Ravi and Sutlej rivers. This canal transfers 623 cumecs of water to Ravi in order to satisfy the requirements of Balloki and Sulemanki headworks.

Characteristics

Marala Headworks is a large hydro

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

project and is used to control water flow and flood control in the River Chenab.

Geography

Chenab is a long river which originates from Chandra Taal in the

Lahul & Spiti The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul () and Spiti (; or ). The present administrative centre is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merged, ...

District of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

where it is known as

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 ...

after the two tributaries

Chandra Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) an ...

and

Bhaga ''Bhaga'' is the Vedic god of wealth, as well as a term for "lord, patron" and "wealth, prosperity". He is an Āditya, a group of societal deities who are the sons of Aditi. Bhaga's responsibility was to make sure that people received a share ...

join at

Tandi Tandi is a city in the Ratnanagar Municipality of the Chitwan District in Nepal. It lies on the eastern side of Chitwan district, and is at the entrance point of Sauraha Chitwan National Park, a Major Tourist destination in Nepal.It is the sec ...

district and acquires the name

Chenab 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 ...

when it enters

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

, near Kishtwar in India. After cutting across the

Pir Panjal Range The Pir Panjal Range ( Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

it enters the

Sialkot District Sialkot District (Punjabi and ur, ), is one of the districts of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located in the Majha region of Panjab, otherwise the northeast of the province. The city of Sialkot is the capital of the district. The Sialko ...

in the

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 ...

. 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 A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

. File:MaralaDam1.jpg File:MaralaDam2.jpg

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Pakistani water locks Locks (water navigation) Tourist attractions in Sialkot Irrigation in Pakistan Dams on the Chenab River Dams in Punjab, Pakistan Dams completed in 1968

History

Characteristics

Geography

See also

References

Bibliography