Jamshedpur, Feb. 22: After the ambitious Koel-Karo multi-purpose project failed, irrigation department authorities have come up with a solution to tackle irrigation and acute drinking water crisis in the region.

The authorities have another ambitious project to link the Koel and Karo rivers with the Subarnarekha so that the water level of the three rivers in South Chhotanagpur region may go up.

The inter-linking of the rivers is likely to give a boost to irrigation activities in the region. As of now, cultivation of major crops largely depends on rainwater.

Irrigation department engineer-in-chief Fulan Prasad said a project to link Koel and Karo rivers with the Subernarekha, which is a perennial river, has already been planned.

?We have planned to link Koel and Karo with the Subernakha to bring about better irrigation facilities in the South Chhotanagpur region. But the plan is still in a nascent stage,? said engineer-in-chief.

The department of irrigation has started talks with the Subernarekha Multipurpose Project chief-in-engineer on the river-linking plan.

However, he said the proposed project will not be a part of the Centre?s project to link major rivers across the country.

Elaborating on the proposed river-linking project, Prasad said the rivers in the South Chhotanagpur region were rain-fed.

He added that these rivers, including the Subernarekha, swell during rainy seasons only when the flow of excessive water needs better management.

?The idea to link Subernarekha with Koel and Karo rivers is just a step to create an alternative source of water for irrigation in the region, where cultivation of crops largely depend on rainwater. Once the irrigation facilities are availed of by inter-linking the rivers, farmers would be able to cultivate two crops in a year in place of the single crop,? said the engineer-in-chief.

Prasad said the initiative to link the Subernarekha with the Koel-Karo rivers is being taken up at the state level but the Centre was informed of the project. ?We are in process of making a feasibility report of the project,? said the irrigation department authority.

Prasad said, before getting a nod for compliance of the project, the department would survey the catchment area that is likely to come under the project?s command area.

?The catchment level is an important factor in determining whether the river-linking project will get a green-signal. On the basis of the rain-water catchment report, the department of irrigation would recommend cabinet approval for the project,? the engineer-in-chief said.