In the 19th century, the canals of Doon Valley were the backbone of agriculture and environment, the lifeline of the society.

Dehradun, 21 November (HS). A special program on the historical canal system of Doon Valley was organized at Doon Library and Research Center on Thursday. On this occasion, Vijay Bhatt and Indresh Nautiyal presented an illustrated talk on the disappearing historical canals of Doon Valley. The program was organized in collaboration with Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti. In this, there was an in-depth discussion on the historical contribution of the canals, their current status and the need for their conservation.

Vijay Bhatt said that in the 19th century the canals of Doon Valley were the backbone of agriculture and environment. He highlighted the historical role of Rajpur Canal built during the time of East India Company and Bijapur, Raipur, Jakhan and other canals built during the British rule. These canals irrigated and fertilized the agricultural lands of the valley, giving rise to crops such as tea, basmati rice and litchi.

Indresh Nautiyal said that today in the name of development, these canals have been destroyed and roads have been constructed, due to which not only the agricultural land has reduced but the environment of Doon Valley has also been affected. He appealed to save this historical heritage of Doon.

The program started with the speech of social thinker Biju Negi. During the discussion, the relationship between the disappearance of canals and rising temperatures was also discussed.

Environmentalists Dr. Ravi Chopra, Chandrashekhar Tiwari, Ajay Sharma, Ira Chauhan, Harshmani Bhatt, Atul Sharma, and many writers, litterateurs and social workers of the city were present in the program.