This canal is very important as it provides life to desert regions of Rajasthan ranging from Sri Ganganagar to Jaisalmer. It has made possible an intensive cultivation of food crops and cash crops in arid regions of Rajasthan.

The Rajasthan Canal was renamed Indira Gandhi Canal, begins at Harike Barrage, Punjab, and ends in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert. One of the tributaries of the Indus River drains its waters from the Sutlej River. The canal has changed the district’s barren deserts into rich and lush fields.

The Indira Gandhi Canal is one of the largest canal projects in India. It starts from the Harike Barrage at Harike, a few kilometers below the confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers in the Indian state of Punjab and terminates in irrigation facilities in the Thar Desert in the north west of Rajasthan state.

But the downside is the resultant waterlogging, soil salinity and the spread of malaria. The 650-km sprawl of the Indira Gandhi canal has transformed large parts of Rajasthan’s arid wastes into lush farmlands. But the downside is the resultant waterlogging, soil salinity and the spread of malaria.

The introduction of irrigation through Indira Gandhi Canal in sandy, barren and hot climatic land has caused if tremendous positive impact within a short duration, on the other hand it has led to adverse impact in the form of water logging, soil salinity, raising of ground water level, siltation of canal by sand.

Positive: The availability of soil moisture for a longer period of time and various afforestation and pasture development programmes under CAD have resulted in transformation in agricultural economy. Spread of canal irrigation has led to increase in cultivated area and intensity of cropping.

The spread of canal irrigation had led to an increase in cultivated area and intensity of cropping. 3. The traditional crops sown in the area gram, bajra and jwar (fodder) have been replaced by wheat, cotton, groundnut and rice.

The Indira Gandhi Canal seems to be changing the face of Rajasthan’s deserts. Launched a few years ago, the canal has transformed the barren deserts of Jaisalmer district into rich and lush fields. Besides providing water for the crops, the canal would supply drinking water to hundreds of people in the far-flung areas.

state of Rajasthan

The Indira Gandhi canal

Correct Option: A. The Ganges or Ganga Canal is a canal system that irrigates the Doab region between the Ganges River and the Yamuna River in India. The canal system irrigates nearly 9,000 km² of fertile agricultural land in ten districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The longest canal is the Damodar Project Canal of around 695 meteres which is a feeder canal from Farakka Barrage is the longest canal in West Bengal.

Answer: Soils near the Kangsabati River are alluvial with a high-degree of clay or sand, whereas soils towards Rangamati are lateritic.

List of Canals in India

Edon Canal