Balangir: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday dedicated to the people the much-awaited Lower Suktel Irrigation Project, regarded as the lifeline of Balangir district.
Constructed with a project cost of Rs 2723 crore, the project is set to benefit the people of about 203 villages in Balangir and Sonepur districts. It will irrigate more than one lakh acre of agriculture land and benefit over 80,000 farmers, besides providing drinking water facility for 70,000 people in the area.
During his visit to Balangir, the Chief Minister also inaugurated 69 other projects worth Rs 305 crore. He also laid the foundation stones of 112 infrastructure projects worth Rs 2220 crore during the visit to the western Odisha district.
First conceptualised in 1998, the Lower Suktel Project work faced various hurdles but after being included in the 5T Initiatives, it got a new lease of life and all works were speeded up.
The 31-meter high dam has a capacity to hold about 320 lakh cubic meters of water and it will help more than one lakh farmers of both the districts. Built with a project cost of Rs 2723 crore, this is considered the ninth biggest dam in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the Lower Suktel Project would place Balangir in the forefront of next level of transformation in the farm sector.
The project would go a long way in mitigating the plight of farmers of the region by providing them with reliable irrigation facility, he said.
As irrigation will be done through underground pipelines no new displacement will take place for irrigation, Naveen said, adding that he respects the sacrifice of the people of 29 displaced villages. Their sacrifice will be remembered forever, he said.
