• ¨   International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) designated the 140-year-old Parichha Weir in Jhansi as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) on 13 August 2026.

    ¨  The Parichha Weir is associated with the Betwa Canal System, which provides irrigation facilities in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

    ¨  World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) is a recognition given by ICID to historic irrigation structures having engineering, cultural and operational significance.

    ¨     ICID is an international organisation concerned with irrigation, drainage and flood management.

    ¨     Parichha Weir is a rubble-stone masonry structure.

    ¨     It is approximately 1,174 metres long and stands 16.8 metres above the riverbed.

    ¨     The weir has 318 steel falling shutters.

    ¨     Its reservoir has a capacity of approximately 2,400 million cubic feet.

    ¨     The associated Betwa Canal System extends for about 2,654 km.

    ¨     The canal system irrigates approximately 4,28,360 hectares across five districts in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

    ¨     The Parichha Weir is located on the Betwa River in the Jhansi region.

    ¨     The Betwa Canal System was first proposed by Captain Strachey in 1855.

    ¨     Construction of the system began in 1881 at a cost of approximately ₹40 lakh.

    ¨     The system was commissioned in 1886.

    ¨     Parichha Weir became the second major structure in the Jhansi region to receive ICID heritage status.

    ¨     The Sukwa-Dukwan Weir was recognised as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure in 2022.