Upper Jhelum Canal

The Upper Jhelum Canal off takes from River Jhelum at Mangla Dam[1] and traverses through the Districts of Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab and then finally ends up in river Chenab at Khanki Barrage. The canal was originally designed and built by Sir John Benton, a British Irrigation Engineer who later became Inspector General of Irrigation[2]. The works on the canal started in 1913 and completed in 1916 when the canal became fully operational. In 1960s the construction of Mangla Dam rendered the canal's head regulator useless. A new head regulator was built for the canal as it continues to irrigates 1.8 million acres of fertile land. On October 24, 2019, the canal was severely damaged as a result of an earthquake. Following the quake the Punjab Irrigation Department closed the canal and rehabilitated it in a couple of weeks to resume the irrigation supplies[3]. Floodwater nullahs drain through the Upper Jhelum Canal into the Jhelum.[4] at a number of locations.