INDIAN IRRIGATION

Evening Star, Issue 20150, 15 April 1929, Page 8

INDIAN IRRIGATION

A HUGE SCHEME Sir Malcolm Hailey, Governor of tha United Provinces, has formally opened the Carda Canal, and tho event will be memorable even in the wonderful history of irrigation in India, writes an Ondh correspondent of ‘ The -Times ’ (London). It is the first large irrigation work that has been completed in the United Provinces for many years; its achievement is remarkable lor the uncommon difficulties and dangers that have attended its construction, and it will be the longest canal system in the world. . Tile provision of a canal for utilising in the Gangcs-Gogra watershed the enormous volume of water which has hitherto run to waste in the Sarcla. River lias been one of tho most conten* tions questions lor more than half a century in the history of Indian irriga-

tion. This great scheme comprises about 4,001) miles of canal and distributing channels, commanding an area of over 7,000.000 acres—that is to say, a, region, as large as all the fertile land ot Egypt. In a dry year over 1,500,000 acres will bo irrigated. The country which will receive water is already highly cultivated, but the introduction of the canal, besides relieving distress and obviating heavy expenditure on relief works in famine years, will lead to a better class of crops being grown,' and more particularly to the development of sugar cane. HANGERS AND DISEASE.

Few more difficult engineering tasks have ever been undertaken than the construction of the upper reaches of tho Sarda project. 'Phe hoadworks and the main canal for its entire length of twenty-seven miles, as also one of tho main branches for a further forty miles, lie, in the depths of one of tho most unhealthy forest tracts in Northern India. None hut aboriginal tribes, who inhabit clearings in the forest, could survive the deadly climate. During tho first years of construction (the work began at the end ot 1920)1 officers and labourers suffered much,and a heavy expenditure on antimalarial work had to be incurred before the headworks could ho rendered reasonably healthy. Even in the later years it has been necessary to suspend work and withdraw labour and staff for four months each summer. Nor was this all. Wild animals, particularly wild elephants and tigers, made it all hut impossible to hold tho labour collected for the work. When gangs of dacoits added a further terror it was only by introducing a light railway and armed police that tho necessary sense of security could ho instilled into Ihe labourers to get them to slay on the work. OVER, .‘3.000 BRIDGES. The country in the upper reaches has a fairly rapid" slope, and numerous falls or weirs had to bo constructed in the main canal and branches to maintain the canal bed at a slope of about Klin per mile, such as is necessary to prevent channels from scouring. The crossing of the rivers and streams of the Tarai was an engineering problem of much difficulty. Over .‘3,000 bridges have been built to provide passes for the traffic across the canal. The great scheme will take some time to develop fully; but in dry years there will always be a keen demand for water, and as time goes on its benefits in raising the standard of cultivation will be realised even in wet years.' It is anticipated that the propect. will yield to the State a net annual return of 7 per cent, on the capital outlay of about £7,500 ; 000.