Second pitch for river canal project
2 min readPatna: Chief minister Nitish Kumar will inaugurate Bateshwarsthan Ganga Pump Nahar Pariyojana (BGPNP) at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur and launch the work to restore the Lakhandei river in Sitamarhi to its old course on February 15.
On the same day, Nitish will also launch work on Manushmara water discharge project and construction of embankment on Ratu river in Sitamarhi. While BGPNP’s completion is being awaited for the past 40 years, the other three projects have been initiated on popular public demand, and are expected to bring various benefits related to flood control and irrigation.
Nitish was supposed to inaugurate the Bateshwarsthan Ganga canal project on September 20, but portions of the elevated canal caved in at NTPC Kahalgaon premises a day before, leading to further delay because of repairs.
Water resources minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh said: “We released water in the canal on Saturday. It reached up to the last point. Our officials watched it overnight. Kahalgaon MLA Sadanand Singh and Bhagalpur district magistrate also inspected the canal. All is well and it is now ready for inauguration.”
“The chief minister was supposed to inaugurate the Bateshwarsthan project, but the canal breached during the trial because of NTPC’s fault. It had constructed an underpass beneath the canal in 1992-93 but had not taken adequate measures to safeguard it. The NTPC accepted its mistake and got the breach repaired with its own money,” Lalan added.
“Lakhandei will be restored to its previous course at a cost of Rs 20 crore. It will benefit Sonebarsa, Bathnaha, Sitamarhi, Runni Saidpur blocks in Sitamarhi. The restoration will be done by desilting and removal of encroachment on the river bed,” Lalan added.
Courtesy: The Telegraph
