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Construction of the Gang Canal(1925 – 1927)

The Gang Canal brought Sutlej water into northern Bikaner and opened in 1927, turning desert into the most productive farmland in Rajasthan and raising the canal tract's population by over 400 per cent.

CO

What you need to know

Conceived by Maharaja Ganga Singh after the famine of 1899-1900
  • Brought Sutlej water into the northern tehsils of Bikaner
  • Opened in 1927; some sources give completion in 1928
  • The 1931 census recorded a population rise of over 400 per cent in the canal tract
  • Immigration into the state more than tripled between 1921 and 1931
  • Punjabi cultivators including many Sikhs took up wasteland at favourable rates
  • Created Sri Ganganagar and the most fertile agricultural tract in Rajasthan
  • The single most consequential public work in the state's history

    • Participants

    • Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner

      Instigator and patron

      Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner

      40s at this event

      Instigator and patron

      40s at event

      Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner

      Maharaja of Bikaner (1887–1943). Only non-white member of Lloyd George’s Imperial War Cabinet (1917); signed the Treaty of Versailles for India; delegate to the League of Nations. First Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes (1921–1926). Bikaner’s hereditary gun salute was elevated from 17 to 19 in 1921 for his WWI service.

    Theatres

    • B

      Bikaner

      Bikaner

      Walled desert city founded in 1488 by Rao Bika; capital of Bikaner State until 1947.

    Powers

    • B(

      Bikaner (Rathor Kingdom)

      Bikaner (Rathor Kingdom)

      Rathor Rajput kingdom of the Thar desert. Watan-jagir vassal of the Mughals from 1570 under Rai Singh.

    • British Raj

      British Raj

      British Raj

      Direct British Crown rule over the Indian subcontinent.

    • Key Points
    • Participants
    • Theatres
    • Powers
    Facts at a glance
    Start
    1925s
    End
    1927
    Tags
    Gang Canal, Bikaner, Ganga Singh, irrigation, Sri Ganganagar, Sutlej, 1927

    Significance · NATIONAL

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    Start
    1925s
    End
    1927
    Tags
    Gang Canal, Bikaner, Ganga Singh, irrigation, Sri Ganganagar, Sutlej, 1927

    Significance · NATIONAL

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