Question

Give a detailed account of canal irrigation in Uttar Pradesh.

Answer 1

In Uttar Pradesh, canals are a significant source of irrigation. The state has fertile soils and is drained by perennial rivers that rise in the snow-capped Himalayan peaks. However, the state’s rainfall is insufficient for long-term agricultural expansion, particularly in the western regions. In order to give the crops a consistent supply of enough water, numerous canals have been built. With over 2,756 thousand hectares under canal irrigation, Uttar Pradesh accounts for 16.3% of the nation’s total canal-irrigated land area. Canals irrigate more than one-fourth of the state’s net irrigated area. Following are the main canals.

• Upper Ganga Canal: Kankhal (Haridwar) in Uttarakhand is the Ganga's source of the Upper Ganga Canal. Construction lasted 1842–1854. A 342 km main canal with 6,200 km of distributaries irrigates 7 lakh hectares in Saharanpur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Mathura, Etah, Kanpur, Mainpuri, and Fatehpur.
• Lower Ganga Canal: The Ganga at Narora in Bulandshahar district fed this 1878 canal. With distributaries, it’s about 6,000 kilometers long. In Bulandshahar, Aligarh, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Fatehpur, Kanpur, and Allahabad, it irrigates 4.6 lakh hectares.
• Sharda Canal: Sharda Canal begins at Banbasa on the Indo-Nepal border on the Sharda River. One of the longest canal systems, it was completed in 1928 and spans 13,624 km. It irrigates almost 8 lakh hectares in Pilibhit, Bareilly, Hardoi, Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Lucknow, Unnao, Barabanki, Rai Bareli, Kheri, and Prayagraj.
• Betwa Canal: Betwa Canal begins 56 km southwest of Jhansi on the Betwa River. Built under the Third Five Year Plan, it serves Bundelkhand. Jhansi, Jalaun, and Hamirpur districts receive 1.2 lakh hectares of irrigation.
• Eastern Yamuna Canal: This 1831 canal starts near Faizabad’s Yamuna River. Main canal and distributaries cover 1,450 km. It irrigates 2 lakh hectares in Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, and Ghaziabad and rejoins the Yamuna near Delhi.
• Agra Canal: The Agra Canal was built in 1874 on the right bank of the Yamuna at Okhla (Delhi). This irrigation system covers 1.5 lakh hectares across Uttar Pradesh’s Agra and Mathura, Haryana’s Faridabad, Rajasthan’s Bharatpur, and sections of Delhi.