Suvendu Adhikari inaugurates irrigation project at Howrah

Kolkata: State Irrigation and Waterways minister Suvendu Adhikari has inaugurated the West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management Project (WBMIFMP) on Wednesday at Udaynarayanpur in Howrah.

WBMIFMP has been taken up for better flood management and enhancement of irrigation facilities in the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) area of Bengal.

The project is aimed to revamp 180 km of main canals and 2,700 km of distribution canal. Also, the irrigation facilities in the state is set to be modernised under this project.

This apart the carrying capacity of Mundeswari river and other drainage channels will be improved as well as raising and strengthening of the existing flood embankments and anti-erosion work on vulnerable river banks.

This project will cost about Rs 2,931 crore and will be completed in six years. Approximately 27 lakh people of East and West Midnapore along with Burdwan, Bankura, Hooghly and Howrah will be benefitted by this project.

The project will meet a long-standing demand of people. Every year vast areas of Howrah and Hooghly are inundated as the channels are unable to hold the water.

It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had assured the local people that a comprehensive plan would be taken to give them relief. Every year crops worth lakhs of rupees are destroyed due to the floods. The loss of livestock runs up to several lakhs.

Moreover, the state government has taken up a major scheme to repair the Durgapur barrage, a first, since it was inaugurated by Dr BC Roy nearly six decades ago. The repairing of the lock gates is underway.

The Irrigation and Waterways department is monitoring the repair work. The Irrigation and Waterways department has also taken up dredging of several channels for clear passage of water during heavy rains.