Joda: Work on the Kanupur irrigation project is on the verge of completion, officials informed Tuesday. This mega irrigation project on the Baitarani river will bring relief to thousands of farmers, they added. The project, touted as the second largest irrigation facility in the state, will help in providing water to over 29,000 hectares of farmland in 244 villages under five blocks in Keonjhar district. The irrigation facilities will help the farmers to raise crops in all seasons. “The soil embankment of the project was completed in June 2014 and the drainage of water is being done through the spillway method. The project will be completed by September this year and will be operational by June 2024,” informed Prasanna Pani, chief construction engineer (CCE) of the project. The news certainly has spread happiness among farmers residing in the villages. They have been waiting for more than four decades for irrigation facilities.
Authorities started storing river water in the dam on February 3. The storing of the water from the Suna and Baitarani rivers has been partially completed. Currently, the accumulation of water has been suspended as some construction work is being carried out in the belly of the dam. The dam will have 12 gates, officials stated.
Once the reservoir will become functional, water for irrigation will be provided through canals to the farmlands in 142 villages of Champua block, 78 villages in Jhumpura block, 11 in Patana block, 12 in Keonjhar Sadar block, and one in Joda block, Pani informed. A total of 29,578 hectares of farmland will be benefitted, the CCE added. Pani also said that the maximum height till which water can be stored in the dam is 39.05 metres and its water-retaining capacity stands at 33,102 MMQ. Pani also dismissed doubts that low-lying areas of Joda will be affected if the water level in Suna river rises. He said that the water level will remain at 440 metres till Lahanda near Bileipada and hence the low-lying areas of Joda will not be affected.
Moreover, there is a plan to produce 4.3 megawatts of hydroelectricity after the construction of the dam, the chief construction engineer said. The estimated budget for the project was Rs 2,438 crore but costs have gone up, officials said. The Odisha government is paying special attention to the project keeping in mind its importance. Keonjhar District Collector Ashish Thakare is regularly reviewing the project. He is also supervising the rehabilitation of villagers displaced due to the construction of the dam.
