State PCS
The Indira Gandhi Canal, which carries water to the Thar Desert, takes off from which structure?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — Harike Barrage
Detailed Solution
The Indira Gandhi Canal (earlier called the Rajasthan Canal) starts from the Harike Barrage, built just below the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas rivers at Harike in Punjab (near the border of the Ferozepur and Tarn Taran districts).
Key facts about the Indira Gandhi Canal:
It is one of the longest canals in India. Its total length, including the feeder canal (in Punjab and Haryana) and the main canal (in Rajasthan), is about 650 km, with thousands of kilometres of branches and distributaries.
Construction began in 1958.
It was renamed the Indira Gandhi Canal (Indira Gandhi Nahar) in 1984, after the death of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
It carries water from the Sutlej-Beas system, stored mainly in the Pong Dam (on the Beas) and Bhakra Dam (on the Sutlej), into western Rajasthan.
It runs roughly parallel to the India-Pakistan border and ends in the Jaisalmer district (near Mohangarh), with lift canals and branches reaching Barmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Churu.
Impact:
- It has changed large parts of the Thar Desert into farmland, growing wheat, cotton, groundnut, mustard and gram.
- It supplies drinking water to many towns and villages.
- It has encouraged afforestation and pasture development along its banks.
- However, it has also caused waterlogging and soil salinity in some areas, and has changed the desert ecology.
About Harike:
The Harike Wetland, formed by the barrage, is one of the largest wetlands of northern India. It was declared a Ramsar site in 1990.
It attracts large numbers of migratory birds in winter.
The Ferozepur Feeder and Sirhind Feeder also take off from here.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The Bhakra Dam is on the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh; the Gobind Sagar reservoir lies behind it.
- ✗The Ropar Headworks (on the Sutlej, Punjab) feeds the Sirhind canal.
- ✗The Pong Dam on the Beas stores water used by the canal, but the canal itself does not start there.
Quick tip
Remember: Indira Gandhi Canal starts at the Harike Barrage (Sutlej-Beas confluence, Punjab) and ends in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
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Rivers, Lakes & Dams of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Rivers, Lakes & Dams of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's drainage system: the Himalayan rivers (the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra systems), the peninsular rivers (Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada, Tapi and Mahanadi), their tributaries and origins, waterfalls, lakes, and the major dams and multipurpose river projects. Exams ask about the origin of a river, its tributaries, the cities on its banks, and the river on which a dam is built. For example, the Bhakra Nangal Dam is on the Sutlej, the Hirakud Dam on the Mahanadi, and the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada. Remember that the Narmada and Tapi flow west into the Arabian Sea, while most peninsular rivers flow east. Practise the rivers, lakes and dams of India questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.