**1. Introduction**

About 50 million years ago, in the Mesozoic era, the shallow sandy Tethys Sea upfolded and formed the Great Himalayan Ranges because of the collision of Indian plate and the Siberian plate. The Indus basin comprised of lofty Himalayan mountains in the north and flat plains of Punjab and Sindh in the east and south. These mountains with immense snow cover gave birth to the Indus River and its tributaries [1]. The Indus River originates from Lake *Manasarovar* in Tibet, China, which traverses a total length of 3200 km (**Figure 1**). From the point of origin, the river flows in the northwest direction and then turns southward after reaching the Hindu Kush Mountains [2]. Many smaller tributaries join the Indus River on its way including *Shyok*, *Zanskar*, *Gilgit*, *Swat*, and *Kabul*. Near *Kalabagh*, it enters into the alluvial plain of Punjab. Five tributaries, viz., Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, join and traverse in the form of Panjnad and then join the Indus River. The mighty river

runs as a large single channel through the Sindh province and ends up draining into the Arabian Sea [3]. The alluvial plain of Indus River is further divided into upper and lower Indus basins based on topography and elevation. The upper Indus basin comprises of the high-altitude mountainous areas with rugged topography including western areas of Tibet and Ladakh, stretching to the Himalayan foothills. The lower Indus basin starts from *Attok* and ends at Indus delta and consists of vast plains of Punjab and Sindh. The climate of Indus basin is humid in the north, semiarid in Punjab, and arid in the Sindh province [4]. The Indus River shares 52% of water in Indus River system, whereas the rest of the 48% is contributed by the Indus River tributaries. The rivers of the Indus basin receive more than 50% water from the glaciers followed by well-defined monsoon system in the upper catchment during monsoon season. The data of the past one century highlights slight reduction in the water flow in the Indus River system (**Table 1**).

The regular flow in Indus basin rivers provided the conducive conditions for early human settlements. One of the oldest civilizations, Indus valley civilization emerged in western South Asia in the prehistoric era along the Indus River and its tributaries when fertile land converted into cropland to grow wheat and barley and pasture to rear the cattle, sheep, and goats [15]. Since that time, several cultures, languages, and religions have emerged, invaded, or mixed because of the good climatic conditions [16]. Several invasions have been documented in history since the prehistoric times, and invaders settled to use the natural and water resources for prospering life. The Indus River basin favored the development of a large irrigation system. In the British era, the irrigation system was developed to increase the crop production in order to develop the agriculture-based economy, which turned the basin into a densely populated area. By the development of irrigation system and introduction of fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural production increased many

**83**

*Vulnerability of Environmental Resources in Indus Basin after the Development of Irrigation…*

folds. This extensive human intervention in the Indus basin resulted in the adverse effects on the ecosystem of the Indus plain from the Himalayas to Indus delta [3]. *Mohenjo-daro* and *Harappa* are believed to be the two main centers of the Indus valley civilization. The ruins of *Harappa* excavation in the Punjab province highlighted that the grain commodity trade evolved which led to the development of earlier urban centers. The second center, *Mohenjo-daro*, found in the Sindh province, Pakistan, suffered from the change in the path of the Indus River. It is also believed that the continuous salinity problems and heavy flooding resulted in the collapse of Indus valley civilization [17, 18]. Early Harappans developed hydrological engineering practices like constructing *gabarbands* and dry masonry dams to divert the water toward the agricultural fields and digging wells and *karez* for the proper utilization of ground and river water. *Karez* system is still in use in Balochistan, while *gabar-*

*Water division, glacial contribution, mean annual flow, catchment area, and agricultural area of Indus River* 

*bands* are widely distributed in Balochistan and Kohistan [19].

**2.1 Early developments in Jammu and Kashmir**

**2. Historical developments in the Indus basin irrigation system**

In the development of early irrigation canals, the rulers of states in upper Indus basin areas played a vital role and paved the way to the construction of the complex irrigation system that exists today. Areas where significant work was done include Jammu and Kashmir regions, Punjab, and Sindh. Later on, further developmental work was carried out in several stages and different eras. Even today, an expansion of Indus irrigation system could be observed in different regions of Pakistan and India.

Development of the canal irrigation system started in the eighth century in the Kashmir region after the regular flooding of the valley and rise in the prices of crops that made the survival of the poor very difficult. In such a situation, King *Lalitaditya* set the drainage system in a suitable direction and distributed the Jhelum River water to different villages for increased production of crops. The Martand Canal was constructed in that period; starting from the left bank of *Liddar* River and terminating at *Karewa* of *Martands*, the canal irrigates about 3844.5 ha of land along its 50 km long channel. King *Avantivarman* started the channel cleaning, broadening, construction of stone embankments, and changing of the location of river junction. Villages were protected by constructing dykes, and in order to make the irrigation system of the valley more effective, a network of canals was constructed, and rain-dependent areas were provided with irrigation facilities. The *Nur* and *Nandikul* Canals were constructed with a length of 13 and 30 km, respectively. *Nur* canal originated from the Jhelum River and terminated at *Anderkot* Village,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86722*

**Table 1.**

*system (IRS) [5–14].*

*Vulnerability of Environmental Resources in Indus Basin after the Development of Irrigation… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.86722*


#### **Table 1.**

*Irrigation - Water Productivity and Operation, Sustainability and Climate Change*

in the water flow in the Indus River system (**Table 1**).

*Map representing river system, major cities, and the extent of Indus River basin.*

runs as a large single channel through the Sindh province and ends up draining into the Arabian Sea [3]. The alluvial plain of Indus River is further divided into upper and lower Indus basins based on topography and elevation. The upper Indus basin comprises of the high-altitude mountainous areas with rugged topography including western areas of Tibet and Ladakh, stretching to the Himalayan foothills. The lower Indus basin starts from *Attok* and ends at Indus delta and consists of vast plains of Punjab and Sindh. The climate of Indus basin is humid in the north, semiarid in Punjab, and arid in the Sindh province [4]. The Indus River shares 52% of water in Indus River system, whereas the rest of the 48% is contributed by the Indus River tributaries. The rivers of the Indus basin receive more than 50% water from the glaciers followed by well-defined monsoon system in the upper catchment during monsoon season. The data of the past one century highlights slight reduction

The regular flow in Indus basin rivers provided the conducive conditions for early human settlements. One of the oldest civilizations, Indus valley civilization emerged in western South Asia in the prehistoric era along the Indus River and its tributaries when fertile land converted into cropland to grow wheat and barley and pasture to rear the cattle, sheep, and goats [15]. Since that time, several cultures, languages, and religions have emerged, invaded, or mixed because of the good climatic conditions [16]. Several invasions have been documented in history since the prehistoric times, and invaders settled to use the natural and water resources for prospering life. The Indus River basin favored the development of a large irrigation system. In the British era, the irrigation system was developed to increase the crop production in order to develop the agriculture-based economy, which turned the basin into a densely populated area. By the development of irrigation system and introduction of fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural production increased many

**82**

**Figure 1.**

*Water division, glacial contribution, mean annual flow, catchment area, and agricultural area of Indus River system (IRS) [5–14].*

folds. This extensive human intervention in the Indus basin resulted in the adverse effects on the ecosystem of the Indus plain from the Himalayas to Indus delta [3].

*Mohenjo-daro* and *Harappa* are believed to be the two main centers of the Indus valley civilization. The ruins of *Harappa* excavation in the Punjab province highlighted that the grain commodity trade evolved which led to the development of earlier urban centers. The second center, *Mohenjo-daro*, found in the Sindh province, Pakistan, suffered from the change in the path of the Indus River. It is also believed that the continuous salinity problems and heavy flooding resulted in the collapse of Indus valley civilization [17, 18]. Early Harappans developed hydrological engineering practices like constructing *gabarbands* and dry masonry dams to divert the water toward the agricultural fields and digging wells and *karez* for the proper utilization of ground and river water. *Karez* system is still in use in Balochistan, while *gabarbands* are widely distributed in Balochistan and Kohistan [19].
