Trimmu Barrage

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Trimmu Barrage is a dam-like structure on the Chenab River in Jhang District, Punjab, Pakistan. It sits about 25 kilometers from the city of Jhang, near Athara Hazari where the Jhelum River meets the Chenab. The barrage was built as one of seven link canals under Pakistan’s Indus Water Plan, created after the Indus Water Treaty with India, to help irrigate farmland and control floods.

Construction began in 1938–1939 under British engineers led by Chief Engineer James Douglas Hardy Bedford. It was designed mainly to protect Jhang and the surrounding area from seasonal floods. The design features an arched grid-iron bridge supported by protective bands, reflecting early 20th-century engineering.

In 2020, major rehabilitation and modernization were carried out to improve operation and durability, including new gates and bridge work. From 2021 to 2023, another round of upgrades increased the barrage’s discharge capacity from about 645,000 cusecs to 875,000 cusecs, boosting flood resilience and irrigation ability. The barrage is about 3,085 feet long and has 37 bays plus 13 spillway bays.