Marala–Ravi Link Canal

The Marala–Ravi Link Canal (MRL canal) is a canal in Pakistani Punjab that flows from the Marala Headworks on the Chenab River near Sialkot to the Ravi river. It was constructed in 1956 to transfer water from Chenab to Ravi as well as to irrigate about 60,000 hectares of land in the Sialkot and Gurjanwala districts.[1][2] It is 100 kilometres (62 mi) long and has a capacity 22,000 cubic feet per second (620 m3/s).[3]

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Marala–Ravi Link Canal (MRL)

The banks of the canal have no fencing and are in dilapidated condition[4] as they have not been repaired since its construction in 1954.[5] The banks were breached in 2014 floods.[6]

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Indian forces strategised to reach up to the MRL canal, driving a wedge between Sialkot and Lahore. But, the Pakistani forces fought them off, resulting in a stalemate.[7]

During initial filling of Baglihar Dam in 2008, the canal was closed allegedly due to the non-availability of water in Chenab.[8][9] Indian commentators dispute the claim.[10]

Views of the canal near Kalekay Nagra village

References
  1. Singh, N. T. (2005), Irrigation and Soil Salinity in the Indian Subcontinent: Past and Present, Lehigh University Press, p. 115, ISBN 978-0-934223-78-2
  2. Naqvi, Saiyid Ali (2012), Indus Waters and Social Change: The Evolution and Transition of Agrarian Society in Pakistan, Oxford University Press Pakistan, p. 13, ISBN 978-0-19-906396-3
  3. Geological Survey Professional Paper. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1969. p. A64. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  4. "Banks of BRB, MR-Link canals direly need repair". The Nation. Sialkot. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  5. Lefebvre, Alain (5 March 2014). Kinship, Honour and Money in Rural Pakistan: Subsistence Economy and the Effects of International Migration. Routledge. p. 85. ISBN 9781136805974. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  6. "Under the weather: Shahbaz inspects flood arrangements - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Lahore. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  7. Kalyanaraman, The Context of the Cease-Fire Decision in the 1965 India-Pakistan War, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, 21 September 2015.
  8. Saman Hamid (4 February 2017). "India's water strategy". Pakistan Observer. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  9. Indo Pakistan water dispute, waterpakistan.com, 2011
  10. Ramaswamy R. Iyer, Pakistan: water on the boil again, The Hindu, 26 July 2011. "The filling was completed well within the prescribed period; there was no deviation in that respect. The shortfall with reference to the prescribed minimum flow at Merala [Marala] (of which there are different estimates by India and Pakistan, and no jointly observed figure) was only for a few hours — less than a day — and could not possibly have caused serious harm."
  • Marala–Ravi link canal marked on OpenStreetMap: 1, 2


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