Patna/Kahalgaon: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday inaugurated the Bateshwarsthan Ganga Pump Nahar Pariyojana (BGPNP), a lift irrigation project at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur, which took four decades in the making.
Terming BGPNP a "dream project", Nitish said it will benefit the people of Kahalgaon, Pirpainti and Sanhoula blocks in Bhagalpur district and areas of Jharkhand.
Nitish added that the lift irrigation project has two pump houses for fetching water from the Ganga and circulate it with the help of irrigation canals and channels.
"Around 22,716 hectares in Bihar and 4,887 hectares in neighbouring Godda district of Jharkhand will get water from the project in the first phase," he said.
"A canal is being constructed in Jharkhand as well. It will meander all around and come back into Bihar. The water resources department (WRD) is working on the sections in which the canal from Jharkhand will come. It will also benefit other parts in our state," Nitish added at a public meeting after inaugurating the irrigation project with the click of a mouse.
The chief minister also reminded that the project was to be inaugurated on September 20 last year, but was delayed due to breach in the elevated portion of the canal at NTPC Kahalgaon premises. The breach was repaired and the entire irrigation project was assessed after that.
Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, water resources minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh a.k.a. Lalan Singh, Rajya Sabha member Kahkashan Parveen, MLC N.K. Yadav and several officials were present on the occasion.
Nitish stressed on the way the project got delayed during the previous governments (read of Congress and RJD).
"I am really ashamed to recall how they (the previous governments) simply ignored such an important irrigation project. My government doesn't believe in talking. It believes in working silently for the people," the chief minister said.
Nitish also pointed out how his opponents had blamed him for the canal breach last year and stressed that the portions concerned were not constructed during his regime.
BGPNP is a "lift irrigation project" in which water from the Ganga will be drawn with the help of pumps and released into the canal to irrigate agricultural areas around Kahalgaon. The canal is 11km long.
The project was started in 1977 with an aim of irrigating 23,000 hectares of land in Bhagalpur and Godda (now in Jharkhand) districts. The then Planning Commission had made an initial investment of Rs 13.88 crore. However, the project was expanded and the estimated cost of the project shot-up to Rs 828 crore.
Nitish said improvements were being made in the water resources department to provide the best irrigation and flood protection facilities to the people. He pointed out that 76 per cent population of Bihar was dependent on agriculture and the government was making all efforts under the third agriculture roadmap 2017-2022 to increase the income of farmers.
Nitish asserted that the state government was ready to purchase land from the local farmers for the proposed central university in the name of Vikramshila Buddha Mahavihara, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.
The chief minister lambasted NTPC Kahalgaon administration for its failure in curbing pollution from the thermal power plant and other issues created by it. He asked NTPC management to adopt modern techniques and equipment to reduce health hazards.
