As mentioned in the Mahakali Treaty singed 26 years ago, Nepal has started getting water for irrigation from the project.
On the occasion of National Paddy Day and Paddy Plantation Festival on Wednesday, Chief Minister for Sudurpashchim Province Trilochan Bhatta inaugurated the canal by planting paddy using water from the canal.
Inaugurating the canal, CM Bhatta said that the provincial government will not be an obstacle in the development work.
He said, “There are some problems in forwarding development work. The provincial government is always ready to help.”
Though Nepal started the canal construction work under the Mahakali Irrigation Third Phase Project from the Fiscal Year 2006/2007, the project was progressing at a slow pace due to the negligence on the part of the Indian
side as the 1,200-meter canal to the Mahakali River falls in the Indian territory. During the visit of the then Energy Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire to India in December 2020, India has agreed to build the canal in its territory as per the agreement.
Nepal has also expedited the work and the project is expected to be completed in time, said Senior Division Engineer Shambhu Raj Pandit.
He said, “We have started the work at a fast pace now. In the 12 years since the project started, work in only 12 km of the canal has been completed. Now, we have completed the construction of 25 km so far.”
He added, “We have so far completed 16 per cent of the 151-km canal.”
The project, which is being built with an investment of Rs. 35 billion, has so far spent Rs. 4 billion, of which Rs. 10 million has been spent on compensation.
“Compensation disputes and obstructions in the forest are the main reasons for the delay in the project. We are still working to issue a tender for 10 km. We have fixed all aspects of this,” said Pandit.
India is currently testing a canal built in its territory, working to fill and empty the canal. The process of construction of the branch canal has also started in the area where the main canal has been constructed.
The design and land acquisition for the construction of 22 branch canals has reached the final stage.
The government has allocated a budget for the construction of branch canals along with the main canal in the budget of the coming fiscal year.
The government has allocated Rs. 1.26 billion for the project in the coming fiscal year. After the construction of 22 branch canals, the irrigation facility will reach 5,300 hectares of land. About eight hectares of land will have to be acquired for the construction of the branch canal.
The construction of the project has gained momentum after the government declared it a project of national pride two years ago. The aim is to extend the irrigation facility to Malakheti of Kailali and Punarbas of the southern region of Kanchanpur.
The project office has said that the project is targeted to be completed by the fiscal year 2029/30.
Source : TRN,
