Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Saryu Canal National Project in Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh on December 11. The project that costs Rs 9,802 crore will benefit 25 lakh farmers in nine districts of Purvanchal region including Bahraich, Gonda, Balrampur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.
It will facilitate irrigation of 14.04 lakh hectares and reduce the risk of floods in several areas due to water coming from Nepal.
The project was one of the 99 projects that had been pending for long and were taken up by PM Modi for completion.
The project, which was started in 1971, was completed on Sunday due to expeditious handling by the PM, said Mahendra Singh, the UP Jal Shakti Minister.
An official associated with the Saryu canal section said the work related to the project has been completed and the construction of the railway bridge is also in the final stage.
Five rivers have been connected under this project, including Ghaghra, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohin while canals with a length of 6,600 km have been linked to the 318 km-long main canal. “This project will solve the problem of floods because of water coming from Nepal. It will reduce the risk of floods in Mahsi, Kaiserganj, Nanpara and Motipur tehsil areas due to water entering the canals,” said Mahendra Singh.
The UP government started this project on a small scale in 1978 for irrigation in two districts at a cost of Rs 78.68 crore. Four years later, in 1982, it was expanded to nine districts. Its name was changed to Saryu Canal National Project and cost was increased to Rs 9,802 crore by 2021. Besides, the capacity of the irrigated area was also increased from 3.12 lakh hectares to 14.04 lakh hectares.
The project could not be completed until Yogi Adityanath took over as the chief minister of the state in 2017. The CM undertook the project and allocated enough budget to complete the project.
Saryu canal is built near Girjapuri barrage on Ghaghra river in Bahraich, which will facilitate flow of water to Saryu barrage built on the Saryu river. Similarly, Rapti canal has been built in Shravasti which will be used for Rapti main canal. Two canals branching out from Saryu main canal will benefit farmers of Basti and Gonda districts. Arrangements have also been made to transport water from Rapti main canal in Shravasti to Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj and Gorakhpur.
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Source: News18