science

Indira Gandhi Canal

Indira Gandhi Canal is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Indira Gandhi Canal rather than just read about it. In short: The Indira Gandhi Canal (also still known by the revered sacred name Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal, also formerly officially called Rajasthan Canal) with total length of 837 kilometres (520 mi), is the longest canal in India which begins in Punjab state at the Harike Barrage (confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers), flows a short distance through northwest part of Haryana state, and ends in the Thar Desert near G…

Key takeaways

Indira Gandhi Canal belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Indira Gandhi Canal to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Indira Gandhi Canal from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Indira Gandhi Canal (also still known by the revered sacred name Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal, also formerly officially called Rajasthan Canal) with total length of 837 kilometres (520 mi), is the longest canal in India which begins in Punjab state at the Harike Barrage (confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers), flows a short distance through northwest part of Haryana state, and ends in the Thar Desert near Gadra Road in western Rajasthan. The course of Indira Gandhi Canal is subdivided into 4 sections, Rajasthan Feeder Canal (RF Canal) N-SW flowing 204 kilometres (127 mi) long course from Harike Barrage in Ferozepur district to Masitawali village in Hanumangarh, Indira Gandhi Main Canal (IGM Canal) N-SW flowing 445 kilometres (277 mi) long course from Masitawali to Mohangarh northeast of Jaisalmer, Sagarmal Gopa Branch Canal (SGB Canal) E-W flowing 96 kilometres (60 mi) long course from Mohangarh to Gunjangarh-Ramgarh northwest of Jaisalmer, Baba Ramdev Sub-branch Canal (BRSB Canal) N-S flowing 92 kilometres (57 mi) long course from Gunjangarh-Ramgarh toward Gadra Road town in Barmer district. Indira Gandhi Canal follows Ghaggar paleochannel of the now-lost sacred Sarasvati River with natural incline, thus requiring no pumping station along the way, hence also the name Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal. Indira Gandhi Canal forms the Rajasthan section of the revived ancient Saraswati River with numerous Indus-Sarasvati Valley Civilisation sites along its course, rest being in upstream Haryana-Punjab and downstream Gujarat.

Etymology

Names of the canal and its branches

Previously named as the Rajasthan Canal after the state of Rajasthan it irrigates, it was renamed as the Indira Gandhi Canal following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sagarmal Gopa Branch Canal is named after the Sagarmal Gopa (1900-1946 CE), a freedom fighter from Jaisalmer. Baba Ramdev Sub-branch Canal (BRSB Canal) is named after the Baba Ramdev (1352–1385 CE, 1409–1442 Vikram Samvat), a 14th-century Hindu rishi (sage), who has a shrine at Ramdevra village situated about 12 km to the north of Pokhran. Baba Ramdev Sub-branch Canal was initially named the Gadra Road Sub-Branch after the Gadra Road town by which it flows, then renamed as Barkatulla Khan sub-branch after the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Barkatullah Khan (r. 1971–73), and finally renamed to its present name Baba Ramdev Sub-branch Canal. Shaheed Birbal Branch Canal (SBB Canal) is named after the Birbal Singh, an Indian freedom fighter from Raisinghnagar who was killed in firing by Bikaner princely state police in 1946.

Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal

Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal, also known as the Indira Gandhi Canal, is named after the sacred Saraswati River, whose paleochannel the Indira Gandhi Canal now follows. In 1980, when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi inaugurated the Rajasthan Canal, as it was officially known at the time, one inscription on its bank referred to it as the "Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal." The scientific research proves that this canal follows the paleochannel of rig vedic Sarasvati River.

History

1940-2010: Rajasthan Canal project The idea of bringing the waters from the Himalayan Rivers flowing through Punjab and into Pakistan was conceived by hydraulic engineer Kanwar Sain in the late 1940s. Sain estimated that 2,000,000 ha (20,000 km2) of desert land in Bikaner and the northwest corner of Jaisalmer could be irrigated by the stored waters of the Punjab rivers. In 1960, the Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan, which gave India the right to use the water from three rivers: the Satluj, Beas, and Ravi. The plan for the Rajasthan Canal at that time envisioned the use of 7,600,000 acre-feet (9.4×109 m3), 9,400 hm³ of water. The canal faced severe financial constraints, neglect, and corruption. Stage I was completed in 1983 around 20 years behind the completion schedule, stage . The Canal was constructed in two stages.

1958-1986: Stage-I construction Stage I consists of the construction of the

Rajasthan Feeder Canal, from Harike barrage in Firozpur district of Punjab to Masitawali (Hanumangarh) in Rajasthan, and Indira Gandhi Main Canal's 189 km (117 mi) section from Masitawali (in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan) to Pugal (in Bikaner district of Rajasthan). Stage I also included constructing a distributary canal system of about 2,950 km (1,830 mi) in length. Stage I was completed in 1983-86, more than 20 years behind the original completion schedule.

1992-2010: Stage-II construction Stage II involved the construction of

Indira Gandhi Main Canal's 256 km (159 mi) long section from Pugal (Bikaner) to Mohangarh (Jaisalmer) distributary canal network of 3,600 km (2,200 mi). revised distributary canal network: The main canal was planned to be 140 ft (43 m) wide at the top and 116 ft (35 m) wide at the bottom with a water depth of 21 ft (6.4 m). Scheduled to be completed by 1971, facing delays, the plan was revised in 1970, and it was decided that the entire canal would be lined with concrete tiles. Five more lift schemes were added, and the flow command of Stage II was increased by 100,000 ha (1,000 km2). With increased requirements, the total length of main, feeder, and distribution canals was about 9,245 km (5,745 mi). Stage II was completed in 2010, around 15 years behind the original completion schedule.

1984: Renamed as Indira Gandhi Canal

On 2 November 1984, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Rajasthan Canal was officially renamed as the Indira Gandhi Canal.

Course and branches

Main course

Indira Gandhi Canal's main course is divided into the following four subsections:

Rajasthan Feeder Canal (RF Canal), N-SW flowing 204 kilometres (127 mi) long course begins in Punjab at Harike Barrage, immediate downstream from the confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers in Ferozepur district at Harike village 35 km south of Taran Taran city and 45 km northeast of Firozpur city, and flows a short distance through northwest part of Haryana state, it ends at Masitawali village 30 km southeast of Hanumangarh city in northwest Rajasthan.

Indira Gandhi Main Canal (IGM Canal), N-SW flowing 445 kilometres (277 mi) long course begins at Masitawali at the end of Rajasthan Feeder Canal and then it sequentially traverses through western districts of Rajasthan, namely Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Phalodi, Jaisalmer, before ending at Mohangarh village 60 km northeast of Jaisalmer city.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Indira Gandhi Canal

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Indira Gandhi Canal claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Indira Gandhi Canal before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Indira Gandhi Canal ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Indira Gandhi Canal

In research: Indira Gandhi Canal appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Indira Gandhi Canal in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Indira Gandhi Canal is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1983 establishments in Rajasthan, Canals in Punjab, India, Canals in Rajasthan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Indira Gandhi Canal outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Indira Gandhi Canal in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Indira Gandhi Canal means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Indira Gandhi Canal out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Indira Gandhi Canal in simple terms?

Why does Indira Gandhi Canal matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Indira Gandhi Canal?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Indira Gandhi Canal.