Over the years, the canal irrigation system of Pakistan has witnessed many paradigm shifts in the context of advancement and effectiveness. From the olden practices of the conventional well system to the modern approaches of perennial canals and tubewells, the canal irrigation system of Pakistan has beheld some very significant changes.
In the initial years of the adoption of the canal irrigation system, there were various ways to irrigate the fields such as shaduf, charsa, persian wheel and karez. In Shaduf, it is a balancing act where a bucket is attached to one side while on the other side the weight of the bucket is balanced by a tantamount weight. Shaduf is used to irrigate a small piece of land. Coming to Charsa, it is characterized by animal power, which is incorporated to draw the water from the well. Then comes the persian wheel which is used to irrigate vast expanses of land and is a system of perpetual water supply. Coming towards the next one, it's the karez, which is a horizontal canal, which is built underground in the foothills. This approach is primarily used to prevent the evaporation rate as it is built underground.
In the initial years of the adoption of the canal irrigation system, there were various ways to irrigate the fields such as shaduf, charsa, persian wheel and karez. In Shaduf, it is a balancing act where a bucket is attached to one side while on the other side the weight of the bucket is balanced by a tantamount weight. Shaduf is used to irrigate a small piece of land. Coming to Charsa, it is characterized by animal power, which is incorporated to draw the water from the well. Then comes the persian wheel which is used to irrigate vast expanses of land and is a system of perpetual water supply. Coming towards the next one, it's the karez, which is a horizontal canal, which is built underground in the foothills. This approach is primarily used to prevent the evaporation rate as it is built underground.