CM inaugurates Subarnarekha irrigation project

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today inaugurated the much awaited Subarnarekha irrigation project, which has the capacity to irrigate about 20,000 hactare (ha) farm land in Mayurbhanj district.

In a public meeting organised at Mayurbhanj, Patnaik said, the first phase of the project will feed the arable lands of five blocks of the districts namely Saraskana, Bangiriposhi, Baripada, Shuliapada and Kuliana and will help the farmers reaping a bumper crop during summer season.

The entire project will take about four more years to complete in 2017 with an estimated cost of Rs 5,629.64 crore and can provide water to about 70,000 ha land, he said.

Patnaik also hoped that the government of West Bengal and Jharkhand would co-operate in completion of the project.

The multi-crore project was taken up after the tripartite agreement was signed among the states of Jharkhand (then Bihar), Odisha and West Bengal on January 17, 1976. But paucity of funds hit the project which targeted to create irrigation potential for nearly two lakh ha in both the districts.

Opposition parties such as Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) opposed the inauguration of the half-complete project.

"The main canal for the ambitious project is far from completion, but the CM surprisingly dedicated it by releasing water during his tour," the party said.

Subarnarekha which originates from Piska near Jharkhand's capital Ranchi traverses a long distance through Ranchi, Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts in Jharkhand, West Midnapore district in West Bengal and Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts in Odisha.

The river, which has a total length of 470 kms, flows for 79 km in both the districts before joining the Bay of Bengal.