The Sulaimanki Project Head, often referred to simply as "Sulaimanki Head", is a large irrigation reservoir located on the Sutlej River in the Okara district of Punjab, Pakistan. It serves as one of the major projects in the vast canal irrigation system of the Punjab. Headline works are needed to divert water from the Sutlej river into a network of canals, ensuring continuous and continuous irrigation of farmlands in the region. Its importance goes beyond water management. It is also of historical, social and economic importance for the Pakistani agricultural economy.


 Background and History

The construction of Sulaimanki Head begins during the British colonial rule in the early 20th century British engineers designed and constructed an extensive irrigation system in the Punjab to convert the arid and semi-arid fertile farmland. This was part of the British policy of increasing agricultural production to meet domestic needs and export. The Sulaimanki Head was completed in 1926 as the first phase of this system, along with several other major headworks and dams in the region, including the Baluki Head and the Islamic Head. These heads form the backbone of the irrigation system in Punjab, one of the largest and most complex irrigation networks in the world.


The Sutlej River, where Head Sulaimanki is located, is one of the five rivers of the Punjab. However, its water flow is seasonal and is influenced by heavy rains and snowfall from the Himalayas. Before the construction of dams and dikes, the river often overflowed its banks during the wet season, causing widespread flooding, but during the dry season, the flooding was minimal. A system of core functions, including the Slimanki core, was developed to assess this natural diversity and the use of water for agricultural purposes.


Location and structure

Sulaimanki Haveli is located about 12 miles [20 km] from the town of Lakha, near the Pakistan-India border. The structure is a dam, a type of small dam that helps control and release water without creating large reservoirs. A dam has a series of gates, which can be opened or closed to control the flow of water. These gates allow engineers to monitor the amount of water entering the downstream channels and the amount of water that continues downstream.


Several canals, such as the Pakpattan Canal and the Fordwah Canal, irrigate a large area of ​​agriculture in Punjab. The water of these canals is essential for growing crops such as wheat, cotton, rice and sugarcane, which are staples of the region’s agriculture. In addition to irrigation, dams help manage flood waters, protecting downstream communities from flood damage during heavy rains.


 Importance of Agriculture

The Sulaimanki spinning wheel is playing an important role in maintaining the agricultural economy of South Punjab. Punjab is often referred to as the breadbasket of Pakistan, which produces a significant portion of the country’s food supply. The area around Head Sulaimanki, including Okara, Pakpattan and Bahawalnagar districts, depends heavily on water to sustain their crops. Without the control of the distribution of water by means of water-heads and the like, much of this land would become barren and unproductive.


The Fordwah and Pakpattan canals irrigate hundreds of acres of agricultural land. These canals enable farmers to grow a variety of crops throughout the year, which contributes significantly to Pakistan’s GDP. Wheat, in particular, is an important crop in the region, and its production is critical to the country’s food security. Cotton, the other major commodity used for canal irrigation, feeds Pakistan’s giant textile industry, one of the country’s largest industries.



Water treatment through the headwaters also promotes the production of sugarcane, which is essential for the sugar industry and for the production of ethanol, another product used for energy production. Rice, though more water-intensive than other crops, is also grown in this region thanks to the reliable water supply from the canal.