UP: PM Modi to inaugurate Saryu Canal project in Balrampur that faced delays since 1978
Highlights
- PM Modi inaugurated the Saryu Nahar National Project today.
- Vajpayee had a long and happy association with Balrampur.
- Saryu Canal project work started in 1978 but was stopped due to budgetary constraints.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh and inaugurated the Saryu Nahar National Project today at around 1 pm. With this inauguration of Saryu Nahar project, PM Modi invoked the memory of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first prime minister from the BJP, who had started his parliamentary journey from Balrampur.
PM Modi talked about Maharaja Pateshwari Prasad Singh Saheb of Balrampur princely state. He said, "Whenever we'll speak of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, contribution of Maharaja Pateshwari Prasad Singh Saheb of Balrampur princely state(erstwhile) will be mentioned. People in Balrampur are connoisseurs, they gave 2 Bharat Ratna in the form of Nanaji Deshmukh & Atal Bihari Vajpayee".
Modi also spoke about CDS General Bipin Rawat who lost his life in a chopper crash. "India is mourning but despite being in pain, neither do we stop our pace nor our development. India won't stop. India won't be at a standstill. Together, we Indians will work hard & face every challenge inside & outside the country", he said during the inauguration.
Vajpayee had a long and happy association with Balrampur, something local people who had seen him in the early days of his career still talk about. Balrampur had proved to be a happy hunting ground for Vajpayee.
In the 1957 general elections, Vajpayee had contested from three seats as a Jan Sangh nominee. He had finished fourth in Mathura and second in Lucknow. He won from Balrampur to make his entry into Lok Sabha for the first time. In 1962, he contested from Balrampur and Lucknow, but lost both. In 1967, he again tried his luck from Balrampur and won.
As per an official statement from the PMO, the work on the Saryu Canal project started in 1978 but due to lack of continuity of budgetary support, interdepartmental coordination and adequate monitoring, it got delayed and was not completed even after nearly four decades.
"Prime Minister's vision for farmer welfare and empowerment, and his commitment to prioritizing long pending projects of national importance, brought much-needed focus on the project," the PMO stated.
Consequently, in 2016, the project was brought under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana with the target to complete it in a time-bound manner.
The Saryu Nahar National Project has been built with a total cost of more than Rs 9,800 crore, out of which more than Rs 4,600 crore was provisioned in the last four years.
The Saryu Nahar National Project built with a total cost of more than Rs 9,800 crore
The project also involves the interlinking of five rivers - Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region.
According to PMO, the project will provide assured water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers of over 6200 villages. It will benefit nine districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh namely - Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.
PMO also said that the farmers of the region, who were the worst sufferers of the inordinate delay in the project, will now immensely benefit from the upgraded irrigation potential. They will now be able to grow crops on a larger scale and maximise the agri-potential of the region.
