CHAPTER XIII
CANALS
Importance of Canals.—One need have no hesitation in placing among the greatest achievements of British rule in the Panjáb the magnificent system of irrigation canals which it has given to the province. Its great alluvial plain traversed by large rivers drawing an unfailing supply of water from the Himalayan snows affords an ideal field for the labours of the canal engineer. The vastness of the arid areas which without irrigation yield no crops at all or only cheap millets and pulses makes his works of inestimable benefit to the people and a source of revenue to the State.
Canals before annexation.—In the west of the province we found in existence small inundation canals dug by the people with some help from their rulers. These only ran during the monsoon season, when the rivers were swollen. In 1626 Sháhjahán's Persian engineer, Ali Mardán Khán, brought to Delhi the water of the canal dug by Firoz Sháh as a monsoon channel and made perennial by Akbar. But during the paralysis of the central power in the eighteenth century the channels became silted up. The same able engineer dug a canal from the Ráví near Mádhopur to water the royal gardens at Lahore. What remained of this work at annexation was known as the Haslí.
Extent of Canal Irrigation.—In 1911-12, when the deficiency of the rainfall made the demand for water keen, the canals of the Panjáb and the N.W.F. Province irrigated 8½ millions of acres. The figures are:
Panjáb
| A. | Permanent Canals | Acres | Interest earned % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Western Jamna | 775,450 | 7¾ | |
| 2. Sirhind | 1,609,458 | 8 | |
| 3. Upper Bárí Doáb | 1,156,808 | 11½ | |
| 4. Lower Chenáb | 2,334,090 | 34 | |
| 5. Lower Jhelam | 801,649 | 10⅓ | |
| B. | Monsoon Canals | 1,654,437 | |
| Total | 8,331,892 |
N.W. Frontier Province
| Acres | Interest earned % | |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Swát River | 157,650 | 9¾ |
| Two minor Canals | 67,510 | |
| Total | 225,160 |