Lagatar24 Desk
Balrampur, Dec.11: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Saryu Canal National Project on Saturday, which seeks to provide water for irrigation to over 14 lakh hectares of land in Uttar Pradesh, benefiting 29 lakh farmers.
PM Modi lashed out at the opposition, claiming that “their mindset” had stymied progress on the critical project.
He also offered his sympathies to the families of the thirteen people killed in a mishap involving an Indian Air Force chopper on December 8 in Tamil Nadu.
He said, “India is mourning but despite being in pain, neither do we stop our pace nor our development. India won’t stop. India won’t be at a standstill. Together, we Indians will work hard and face every challenge inside and outside the country.”
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya were present at the project inauguration programme.
The Saryu Canal National Project for irrigation was built at a cost of nearly Rs 9,800 crore. It entails the intertwining of five rivers — the Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga, and Rohini — in order to maximise the region’s water resources.
Work on the project began in 1978, but was delayed and never completed due to “lack of continuity of budgetary support, interdepartmental cooperation, and sufficient monitoring,” according to an official government statement. The project was brought under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana in 2016, with the goal of completing it as soon as possible.
According to the government, the project will benefit farmers in nine Purvanchal districts: Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, and Maharajganj.
