Bhubaneswar, Aug. 8: The Odisha government is planning to build a tunnel and a 50-km long canal at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore to provide irrigation from the Indravati reservoir located in Kalahandi district to 15,000 hectares of agricultural land in neighbouring Nawarangpur district.

“A preliminary survey work for the proposed project has been completed. A detailed project report will be prepared now,” Odisha water resources secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra told The Telegraph.

A 500-metre long tunnel and a 50km canal would be constructed to provide irrigation facilities to the land in Nawarangpur, said Mohapatra.

The Upper Indravati Multipurpose Project had been launched in Kalahandi district with an objective to divert water of Indravati river into the Mahanadi valley for power generation and irrigation. The project provides irrigation to 70,000 hectares in Kalahandi district.

The progress of the proposed project was discussed at a meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik today. Besides the tunnel and canal network, four check dams will be constructed on the Indravati river — at Tokiguda, Bhitarbadi, Miniguda and Bangalaguda — to create an irrigation potential for 1,489 hectares.

Apart from it, four lift irrigation projects would be set up in Nandahandi block to provide irrigation facility to 4,080 hectares of agricultural land, said an official of the water resources department.

The Odisha government has also planned to sink 3,000 borewells in the district during the next two years.

At present, the Vaskel medium irrigation project is being executed in Nawarangpur to tap water resource in the district. Apart from it, 770 deep borewells have been sunk in the district, of which 200 deep borewells have also been energised.

Some other projects are also set to provide irrigation to 35,000 hectares of agricultural land. These include the Lower Vaskel Major Irrigation Project, the Turi-Guntat and the Tel Medium Irrigation Project.