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Canals in India
Why Were Canals Needed?
Canals are waterways made by man and they run between two chosen points. There are quite a few beautiful canals in India that not only help in irrigation facilities, but also help in supplying drinking water to the people of nearby areas. They can also be a main source of transport for goods. Transit through water is quite economical when compared to transport through rail, road or air. Based on the areas where they are built and the purposes for which these are built, canals are either broad or narrow type. India was the face of irrigation to the external world right from the start of 19th century, there was a dire need for developing some cost-effective tool that would help in improving drinking water supply, irrigation facilities and for transporting goods through water. This was the main reason why canals were set up, not only in India, but all over the world. In India, tributaries of main rivers were taken as the base and engineers constructed canals across farmlands, drainage bridges etc.
Kinds of Canals
Canals in India fall under various categories. They are:
Main canal – These are constructed directly from the dams or water sources and are usually the most beneficial kinds of canals.
Branch canal – Small branches that break out from the main canal and that discharge water up to 14 – 15 cumecs or more are termed as branch canals.
Major distributary – If the branch canal shooting out from the main canal discharges water in the range between 0.028 and 15 cumecs, they are termed as major distributaries.
Minor distributary – If the branch canal shooting out from the main canal discharges water serving about 40 hectares, they are termed as minor distributaries. Usually, these canals are named after the places where they are located.
Field canal – If the branch canal shooting out from the main canal discharges water serving less than 40 hectares, then it is termed as field canal. India has all these kinds of canals, spread over many states.
Decline in Usage
During 19th century, canals were used to transport a lot of things and it was also used by people extensively. However, over a period of time, canals became difficult to maintain as it required a lot of money to repair and restore canals. Therefore, the usage of canals started seeing a marked decline as people started preferring the costly but stable modes of transport like rail, road and air. In India, the Indira Gandhi canal in Rajasthan is the longest.
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