List of Top Barrages in Pakistan

Pakistan is an agricultural country. It has the world’s largest irrigation system, which is called the Indus Basin Irrigation System.

Mainly in Pakistan, the flood method of irrigation is used that requires a considerable quantity of water. For these purposes, barrages are essential in this country.

Barrages in Pakistan

In this article, we will discuss different barrages in Pakistan. We will also discuss the location and capacity of these barrages to provide you with more knowledge.

1) Sukkur Barrage

Sukkur barrage is located in the Sukkur district of Sindh Province. It is also called Llyod Barrage. This barrage is constructed on the Indus river.

Moreover, this barrage was constructed during British rule between 1923 to 1932. It is called the pride of Pakistan’s irrigation system.

Furthermore, the Sukkur barrage is the largest irrigation system in the world. Therefore, this barrage is the backbone of the economy of Pakistan.

Most importantly, this barrage irrigates most of Sindh. It feeds seven canals that make a total length of approximately 9,923 kilometers.

Sukkur barrage irrigates 7.63 million acres of land that makes more than 25 percent of the total irrigated land of Pakistan. Nara canal is the largest and most significant canal of this barrage.

2) Guddu Barrage

Guddu Barrage is located in the Kashmore district of Sindh. It is also constructed on the Indus River. This barrage was completed in 1962.

Furthermore, the Guddu barrage provides water supplies to vast areas of Sindh and Balochistan for irrigation and drinking purposes. It is also used to control floods.

Moreover, this barrage supplies water to 2.9 million acres of land. It feeds four canals, namely Ghotki feeder, Rainee feeder, Begari, and Phat feeders.

This barrage has 64 gates that 18 feet long. It has a span of 1400 meters. The discharge capacity of this barrage is 1.2 million cusecs.

3) Kotri Barrage

Kotri Barrage is situated in Jamshoro district near Hyderabad. It is also called Ghulam Muhammad Barrage. This barrage is built on the Indus river.

Moreover, the construction of the Kotri barrage was completed in 1955. It has a discharge capacity of 8,75000 cubic feet per second.

Furthermore, the Kotri barrage is 1,600 meters long and has 44 gates. Each gate of this barrage is 18 feet wide. This is a gate-controlled barrage with a navigation lock, and its design is weir type.

This barrage feeds three canals: Fuleli Canal, Pinyari Canal, and Kalri Baghar Canal. Thus, it irrigates almost the whole of lower Sindh.

4) Jinnah Barrage

Jinnah Barrage is located near Kalabagh in the Mianwali district of Punjab. It was constructed between 1939 to 1946.

Moreover, this barrage has a span of 1,152 meters. It has 42 spillway gates, and each gate is 18.2 meters wide.

Furthermore, the discharge capacity of Jinnah Barrage is 950,000 cubic feet per second. Jinnah Barrage is also a part of the “ Thal Project”. This project will irrigate vast land in the Sindh Sagar Doab region.

5) Chashma Barrage

Chashma Barrage is also located in the Mianwali district of Punjab. Its construction work was started in 1967 and completed in 1971.

Furthermore, Chashma Barrage is constructed on the Indus River. It is situated some 56 kilometers downstream of the Jinnah Barrage.

Moreover, this barrage has a span of 1,084 meters. It has 52 gates, and each gate is 18.2 meters wide. Therefore, the discharge capacity of this barrage is more than Jinnah Barrage.

Further, Chashma Barrage has a spillway capacity of 8,70,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs). It supplies water to CJ-Link Canal and Chashma Right Bank Canal.

6) Taunsa Barrage

Taunsa Barrage is located in the Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab. This barrage is also constructed on the Indus River.

Moreover, this barrage was constructed between 1952 to 1958. Taunsa Barrage is 1,325 meters long and feeds three canals.

Furthermore, it is a crucial barrage on the Indus river. Around 6 million farmers irrigate their fields from this barrage.

7) Trimmu Barrage

Trimmu Barrage is located in the Jhang District of Punjab. It is constructed on the Chenab river. This barrage was constructed between 1937 and 1939 during British rule.

Moreover, this barrage is used to control the flow of the Chenab river and floods. It supplies water to a vast area for irrigation purposes.

Furthermore, initially, it was constructed to protect the city of Jhang from floods. Several upgradation programmes have been done on this barrage.

8) Rasul Barrage

Rasul Barrage is located between the Jhelum and Mandi Bahuddin districts of Punjab. It is constructed on the Jhelum river.

Moreover, this barrage was first constructed in 1968. It is 975 meters long, and its gates are 17 meters wide.

Furthermore, the discharge capacity of this barrage is 24,070 cubic feet per second (cusecs). This barrage is located 72 kilometers downstream of Mangla Dam.

9) Sulemanki Headworks

Sulemanki Headworks is located in the Okara district of Punjab province. It is constructed on the Sutlej river in Depalpur Tehsil of Okara.

Moreover, this headworks was constructed between 1922 to 1927 by the Nawab of Bahawalpur state. It supplies water for irrigation purposes to the adjacent areas.

Furthermore, Sulemanki headworks is an essential hydraulic structure in this region. Millions of livers of this region depend on this headworks.

10) Marala Headworks

Marala Headworks is situated in the Sialkot district of Punjab. It is constructed on the Chenab river. This barrage was first built in 1912.

Furthermore, in 1968 a new barrage was constructed and named Marala Barrage. It supplies water to the adjacent areas for irrigation purposes.

Moreover, the discharge capacity of this barrage is 11,00,000 cusecs. It feeds two significant canals, namely Marala Ravi Link Canal and Upper Chenab Canal.

11) Khanki Headworks

Khanki Headworks is located in the Gujranwala district of Punjab. This barrage is also constructed on the Chenab river.

Moreover, the construction work of this barrage was completed in 1889. Thus, it is one of the oldest headworks in Pakistan.

Furthermore, the discharge capacity of Khanki Headworks is 800,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs). It is used to control floodwater and supply water for irrigation purposes.

12) Qadirabad Headworks

Qadirabad Headworks is located in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Punjab. It is constructed on the Ravi river to control the flow of water.

Moreover, this headworks supplies water to a large area for irrigation purposes. Therefore, it is one of the vital headworks of Pakistan.

13) Balloki Headworks

Balloki Headworks is a barrage on the Ravi river. It is situated in the Nankana Sahib district of Punjab province of Pakistan.

Moreover, this headworks was first completed in 1915 by the British government. It was a part of the “ Triple Canals Project”.

Furthermore, Balloki Headworks irrigates a vast area in the adjacent districts. Many rehabilitation programmes have been done on this headworks.

14) Sidhnai Headworks

Sidhnai Headworks is constructed on the Ravi river. It is located in the Khanewal district of Punjab province of Pakistan.

Moreover, this headwork is located 15 kilometers from the confluence of the Ravi river into the Chenab river. It is used to control the flow of the river and to provide water for irrigation purposes.

15) Panjnad Headworks

Panjnad Headworks is located in the Bahawalpur district of Punjab. At this headworks, all the five rivers of Punjab merge and go into the Indus river.

Moreover, this headworks feeds three canals, namely Panjnad Canal, Abbassia Canal and Abbasia Link Canal. In 2020, semi-automatic gates were installed at this headwork.

Conclusion

Barrages are the intergral part of an Agricultural country, as all the water is controlled through these barrages.

Here we have reviewed all the barrages in the provinces of Pakistan like Sindh, Punjab etc.