Agra Canal

The Agra Canal is an important Indian irrigation work which starts from Okhla in Delhi. The Agra canal originates from Okhla barrage, downstream of Nizamuddin bridge.[2]

Agra Canal
Agra Canal headworks, at Okhla barrage, in Delhi, 1871.
CountryIndia
Specifications
Length140[1] miles (230 km)
Lock length120 ft
Lock width20 ft (6.1 m)
LocksOne
Maximum height above sea level659 ft (201 m)
History
Construction began1868[1]
Date completed1874
Date closed1904
Geography
Start pointOkhla barrage
Beginning coordinates28°34′N 77°18′E

The Canal receives its water from the Yamuna River at Okhla, about 10 km to the south of New Delhi. The weir across the Yamuna was constructed of locally quarried stone.[1] It was about 800-yard long, and rises seven-feet above the summer level of the river.

From Okhla the canal follows a route south then southeast for 140 miles (230 km) in the high land between the Khari-Nadi and the Yamuna and finally joins the Utanga River about 27 miles (43 km) below Agra.[1] Navigable branches connect the canal with Mathura and Agra.[3] The canal irrigates about 1.5 lakh MOS:DIGITS hectares in Agra, and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Faridabad in Haryana, Bharatpur in Rajasthan and also some parts of Delhi.

History

The canal opened in 1874. In the beginning, it was available for navigation, in Delhi, erstwhile Gurgaon, Mathura and Agra Districts, and Bharatpur State. Later, navigation was stopped in 1904 and the canal has since then, been exclusively used for irrigation purposes only. At present the canal does not flow in district Gurgaon, but only in Faridabad, which was earlier a part of Gurgaon.

In recent times, Agra canal is an important landmark which separates Greater Faridabad from Faridabad.

References
  1. Jones, R.E., Major H. Helshman (1874). Professional Papers on Indian Engineering, Volume 3. Thomason College Press. p. 302. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  2. Agra Canal Modernization Project Archived 18 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Agra Canal" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press..


The Agra Canal also has many places to visit along its coast.


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