UP, MP agree for dedicating to nation Rajghat dam: Official

The possibilities of dedicating to nation the Rajghat Dam on river Betwa have brightened with Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh expressing their willingness for it in a meeting of Betwa River Board held under Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti last month.
The meeting, chaired by Bharti, was held on April 30 in New Delhi in which both the states have decided to dedicate to the nation the Rajghat dam, Betwa River Board's Executive Engineer Naresh Kumar said here today.
The foundation stone for the dam was laid by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1971 and its construction began in 1975, he said.

The construction of 43.9 meter-high and 563 meter-long dam was completed in 2006 with a cost of Rs 375 core. Its catchment area is 17,000 sq kms straddling Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
A total of 90,000 acres of land spread in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh gets irrigated from it, he said.
In the meeting it was also decided that both the States will renovate the area of dam in their respective sides and also appoint staff for its maintenance.
Kumar said that the meeting of the Betwa River Board took place after nearly 20 years and it has raised hopes of Rajghat dam's much-awaited inauguration soon.