THAL

central section of the Sindh Sagar Doab (tract), Punjab province, Pakistan, lying between the Indus and the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. Formerly desert, it is now irrigated by canals from the Jinnah Barrage (Kalabagh Barrage) on the Indus. The Thal Project, under the Agriculture Development Corporation, is one of the most important development projects in the world, with plans for extension of agriculture, industry, and village and town construction. Cultivation of wheat, cotton, rice, and sugarcane has increased. Forests also have been planted and cattle farms set up. New townsJawhar abad, Qaidabad, and Liaqatabadhave been built with woollen and sugar mills and textile and cement factories.