Narmada-Kshipra river linking scheme to be formally launched

Testing of the ambitious Narmada-Kshipra river linking scheme worth Rs 432 crore has been successful and is expected to be formally launched this month, Narmada Valley Development (NVDA) sources said.
"Our engineers took nearly 14 months to complete the Narmada-Kshipra Simhast Link Scheme which has been tested successfully," sources told PTI here today.
Under the scheme, Narmada water would be lifted by deploying powerful pumps upto a height of 350 metres from a distance of 50 km and brought to the origin of Kshipra river, sources said.
The river at this spot appears be extinct, they said.
Water from the Narmada river would be lifted from the Sisliya pond in Khargone district and brought to Kshipra's source from where it would be released into the Kshipra river.

From here, the water in Kshipra river would flow to a distance of 115 km to reach Ujjain where Simhast (Kumbh) mela is held every twelfth year. The foundation stone for the project was laid on November 29, 2012.
After completion of all three phases of the scheme, nearly 3,000 villages of the Malwa region and 70 towns would get ample water, besides it would also provide additional irrigation facilities in a 16-lakh hectare area, the sources said.
The scheme would also ensure availability of water in the Kshipra river in Ujjain during the Simhast 2016, they said.