BHAWANIPATNA: After a long wait of 20 years, 76 villages in Bhawanipatna and Kesinga blocks of Kalahandi district have finally received irrigation water from the Indravati project during the current kharif season.
This was made possible through the extension of the Indravati right canal that stretches 88 kilometers from Mukhiguda to Badaphunda, with the recent extension adding another 44 kilometers from Badaphunda to Goudtula.
Construction of the canal extension began in 2002-03 and was completed in 2014-15, aiming to irrigate 15,260 hectares of land. However, due to insufficient hydraulic pressure in the main canal and erosion in the extension canal caused by prolonged delay, water could not be released until now.
This season, 9,000 hectares of land across 55 villages in Bhawanipatna block and 21 villages in Kesinga block have received irrigation for the first time through the canal extension.
Executive engineer of the Indravati right canal, Rajkumar Behera, confirmed that water reached the targeted fields after completing concrete lining work up to 44 kilometers of the main canal and repairing the extension canal. The entire targeted area of 15,260 hectares is expected to benefit soon, he added.