BARIPADA: Good news awaits the farmers of Suliapada block in Mayurbhanj district as 7,339 hectare farmland will soon get irrigation water from Subarnarekha basin through pipelines.
Work for laying 16-km-long pipelines to supply irrigation water has already been taken up and the project is estimated at Rs 50 crore.
Earlier, to cater to the needs of the farmers, Subarnarekha Basin released the first water from Patiasimuli and Jamda branch canals to irrigate more than 2861.90 hectare land. It benefited farmers of 15 villages under Kuliana block during current season.
The turn of farmers of Suliapada block will come soon as the 16-km-long pipeline canal will be erected from Keutunimari to Suliapada. The project report reveals that more than 10,000 families will benefit once the pipeline water supply connection starts operation.
Chief engineer of Subarnarekha Basin Ramakanta Mohapatra said about 11cumsec water from the main canal will be released for irrigation purposes through the pipeline project. “We opted for pipeline instead of a canal system to avoid land acquisition disputes. The pipeline will easily reach farm lands in Suliapada during kharif season,” he said.
Farmers Deepak Das, Bibhuna Mohanta and Sambari Naik are happy. “We have long been facing irrigation problems as monsoon was the only hope for our kharif crop. Once we lost the paddy crop in a season, we had to wait for the next. However, with the pipeline project, the problem can be resolved for good,” Das said.