Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday visited Kalahandi and dedicated 54 projects worth Rs 1,064 crore including the Upper Indravati Lift Canal system for the people of the district.
He also laid foundation-stones of 52 projects worth Rs 1,020 crore in the district. He announced setting up of a museum, a park and a temple of Goddess Indravati in the premises of the park at the project site.The Upper Indravati Lift Canal system has been constructed at a cost of Rs 986.71 crore and is capable of irrigating 25,275 hectares of farmland.
The system comprises 43.26 km of concrete canal and 1,142 km of underground pipeline. Around 3 lakh farmers of Koksara, Jaipatna and Dharamgarh blocks in the district would be benefited with the launch of the canal system. Water would be lifted from the Mangalpur barrage for irrigation. The 54 projects launched by Patnaik includes 10 drinking water projects worth Rs 20.02 crore and 13 check-dams at a cost of Rs 4.83 crore. The megalift irrigation projects at Salebhata, Champadeipur, Gopinathpur, and Teran Gasil, Sandul irrigation project, mega pipe water supply to Golamunda block covering 28 gram panchayats (Rs 177.84 crore) and 40 single village pipe water supply schemes (Rs 116.73 crore) are among the projects for which the CM laid foundation-stones.
Patnaik said that once known as “a laboratory of poverty”, Kalahandi has now emerged as the second largest rice bowl of the State. It’s noteworthy that Patnaik for the first time after the Covid-19 outbreak attended a public meeting in the State.
