Thal Desert
The Thal desert is situated in Punjab, Pakistan. The vast expanse is located between the Jhelum and Sindhrivers near the Pothohar Plateau, with a total length from north to south 190 miles, and a maximum breadth of 70 miles (110 km) and minimum breadth 20 miles. The desert covers the districts of Bhakkar, Khushab, Mianwali, Layyah, Muzaffargarh as well as Jhang, from the left bank of the river Jhelum. Geographically, it resembles the deserts of Cholistan and Thar.
Some of the main towns of the desert are Mankera, Roda Thal, Mari Shah Sakhira, Mehmood Shaheed, Dullewalla, Shahi Shumali, Koat Aazam, Jiasel, Jandan Wala, Noor pur Thal, Jandan Wala, Rang pur, Hyderabad Thal, Shah Wala and Piplan. The locals of Thal basically speak ‘Seraiki’ but Punjabi is also spoken by many in the desert . The main activity in the region is cattle rearing. There are some reclamation projects going on in some area providing canal water for irrigation from the connecting rivers, so someagriculture is also done in those areas. There are many tribes in the desert namely; Tiwana, Sial, Chhina, Mammak, Bhachar, Baghoor, Rahdari, Jhammat, Cheenna (Jutt), Bhachar, Gahi, Aheer, Lashari, Waghra’s and Awans etc.
The Thal canal
The history of the Thal Canal Project goes back to over 130 years. It was in 1873 that the project was first conceived for the whole of Thal Doab. The proposal to irrigate this area was repeatedly brought up for discussion in 1919, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1936 and in 1949. It was however repeatedly shelved because of the argument that it would severely hurt the water availability to the lower riparians. The project proposal once again came under discussion in 1975 when the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) refused to endorse the project. Finally, on August 16, 2001, General (Rtd) Pervez Musharraf, as President of Pakistan, inaugurated the 30-billion rupee Greater Thal Canal (GTC) project. images |
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