 The construction of the canal started on 13 August 1885 and was completed on 12 July 1896 and the soil that was dig out to create the canal formed "batas ban", which formed the foundation for the current federal trunk road to the state capital Alor Setar.Until the 1990s, Gurun is well known for its vegetables products and was recognised as the main vegetables and corn producer for Kedah.Apart from that, several rubber estates such Havard Estate and Jentayu Estate in the main commodity players for Kedah.