Indira Gandhi Canal Project has been taken out form Harike Barrage which is situated on the confluence of Sutlej and Ravi rivers. This canal was built to ensure supply of drinking water, utilization of fallow land and to make human settlement along international border. This is the longest man-made canal not only in India but also in Asia. This canal is 649 km long; out of which 169 km is in Punjab, 14 km is in Haryana and rest is in Rajasthan. This canal supplies drinking water to 9 districts, 29 towns and 3461 villages in Rajasthan.
This canal was made in two phases which respectively include Rajasthan feeder canal and the main canal. Rajasthan feeder lies between the origin and Masitwali and is 204 km long. The main canal lies between Masitwali and the end point and is 445 km long. There are 9 branches towards the west, i.e. towards the international border. These branches are made along the slope. As the gradient is higher towards east, hence water is lifted up through lift canals and directed into the smaller branches. The total number of lift canals is 7. This canal would facilitate irrigation of 17.41 crore hectare of land. This project has now been extended up to Gadra Road of Barmer.