At the time of the country's independence, the Upper Bari Doab canal system was developed as the best canal system, starting from Pathankot-Madhopur and extending up to 400 km through 7 branch canals, with more than 250 drains and streams stretching up to 2,400 km, irrigating over 5,00,000 hectares of land. The time has come to address the deteriorating condition of this canal network that serves over 1,700 villages.