Indira Gandhi Canal
The Indira Gandhi Canal (originally, Rajasthan Canal) is the longest canal of India. It starts from the Harike Barrage at Harike, a few kilometers below the confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers in the Indian state of Punjab and terminates in irrigation facilities in the Thar Desert in the north west of Rajasthan state. Previously known as the Rajasthan Canal, it was renamed the Indira Gandhi Canal on 2 November 1984 following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The canal consists of the Rajasthan feeder canal with the first in Punjab and Haryana state and  a further in Rajasthan followed by the of the Rajasthan main canal, which is entirely within Rajasthan. The canal enters Haryana from Punjab near Lohgarh village then runs through the western part of the Sirsa district before entering Rajasthan near Kharakhera village in the Tibbi tehsil of the Hanumangarh district. The canal traverses seven districts of Rajasthan: Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Sriganganagar. The main canal is 445 km long which is 1458 RD (RD represents reduced distance). From 1458 RD, one branch starts, known as Sagar mal gopa branch or the SMGS. Sagar mal gopa branch is  96 km long. From the end point of SMGS, another subbranch starts, which is the last subbranch of this canal named as Baba Ramdev sub-branch and it is 92 km long. It ends near Gunjangarh village in Jaisalmer district. Design and Construction. The idea of bringing the waters from the Himalayan Rivers flowing through Punjab and into Pakistan was conceived by a hydraulic engineer, Kanwar Sain, in the late 1940s who proposed that of desert land in Bikaner and the northwest corner of Jaisalmer could be brought under irrigation from the stored waters of Punjab rivers. In 1960, the  Indus Water Treaty was signed between India and Pakistan which gave India the right to use waters of three rivers – the Satluj, Beas and Ravi. The proposed Rajasthan Canal envisaged use of 7.6 million acre feet of water. The initial plan was to build the canal in two stages, Stage I consisting of feeder canal from Harike barrage, Firozpur, Punjab to Masitawali (Hanumangarh) with the main canal of from Masitawali (Hanumangarh) to Pugal, (Bikaner) in Rajasthan. Stage I also included constructing distributary canal system of about in length. Stage II involved construction of long main canal from Pugal (Bikaner) to  Mohangarh (Jaisalmer) along with distributary canal network of . It was planned that the main canal will be wide at the top and wide at the bottom with water depth of . The canal was scheduled to be completed by 1971. The canal faced severe financial constraints, neglect and corruption. In 1970 the plan was revised and it was decided that the entire canal will be lined with concrete tiles. Five more lift schemes were added. Flow command of stage II was increased by . With increased requirements, the total length of main, feeder and distribution canals was about . The stage I was  completed in 1983 around 20 years behind the completion schedule. The Green revolution in Rajasthan. After the construction of the Indira Gandhi Canal, irrigation facilities were available over an area of in Jaisalmer district and in Barmer district. Irrigation had already been provided in an area of in Jaisalmer district. However many argue the success of this canal in arid regions and whether it has achieved its goals. Crops of mustard, cotton, and wheat now grow in this semi-arid north-western region replacing the soil there previously.