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Jamshedpur, July 11: It may take months for Galudih barrage’s right canal, one of the important components of Subernarekha Multipurpose Project (SMP), to become fully operational even though the authorities recently started releasing water from it on a trial basis.
The 56km right canal, which is to provide water for irrigation to Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, is partially blocked at several places because of growth of plants and bushes and accumulation of silt over the years. Hence, water cannot pass through the canal till the blockages were removed and gaps plugged in.
A high-level meeting was held between SMP administrator Rahul Sharma and Odisha water resource department secretary S.C. Mahapatra today to sort out the issue. Beside Sharma and Mahapatra, chief engineer of SMP Braj Mohan Kumar, superintending engineer, executive engineers and junior engineers were also present.
“We have already started the trial of releasing water, but at a number of places the canal, which leads to Mayurbhanj district, is incomplete in the sense that plants and shrubs have grown there. We cannot make it operational unless the overgrowth and accumulated mud are cleared and the gaps cemented,” Sharma told The Telegraph after the meeting that lasted for over two hours.
At the meeting, Sharma also directed SMP chief engineer and his subordinates to personally go to the canal site and ensure that the blockages were removed. “We are trying to solve the bottleneck at the earliest. Work will be carried out on a war-footing,” said the SMP administrator.
He added that they had released water till 28km from Galudih barrage during the tests while the end point of the canal is 56km. A senior SMP official said they had enough water at Chandil dam to cater to Odisha through the right canal.
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