Kanchanpur's irrigation dream: When will the irrigation system reach 50,000 bigha?

Dhangadhi: In 2063 BS, the people of Kanchanpur were not only excited when the government announced that water from the Mahakali river would be brought to the fields for irrigation, but they took it as the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. The dream of the people of Kanchanpur, who have started to imagine that the crops will flourish with the water of the Mahakali irrigation project in the fields that remain barren due to the lack of irrigation facilities, has not yet been fulfilled.

The project, included in the national pride, is very low in the one and a half decade since its inception. It is not certain when the project will be completed. It has been 16 years since the construction of the Mahakali Irrigation Project started to irrigate 50,220 bighas of Kanchanpur. 35 billion investment project was started in 2063 BS.

Although the project is said to be completed by 2074/75 BS, it is still at a slow pace. In these 16 years, progress has not even reached 11 percent in the construction of 151 km of main canal. The construction work of 22 branch canals has not been visible. The land compensation dispute that has been going on for years has not been resolved.

The project office has been showing the excuse of lack of budget. If the project is completed, irrigation facilities will reach 50 percent of the citizens of Kanchanpur. But the farmers, who were waiting for water to come and crops to grow, are disappointed to see the progress. For a long time there was a dispute about how deep the reservoir of Tanakpur Dam would be for Nepal to get water.

Nepal was demanding to provide water from a depth of 142 meters, while the Indian side had taken a stand to provide water from a depth of 145 meters. After a long discussion, the Indian side was ready to release water from the surface at a depth of 144.25 meters. After the dispute was resolved, the Indian side proceeded with the construction of the canal.

From Brahmadev to Godavari, the main canal is 47 km and the branch canal is 151 km long, and irrigation facilities will be available on about 35,000 hectares of land. But in the last few years, the area of the Mahakali Irrigation Project is expected to decrease due to the rapid increase in land sales in the center of the local level and the center of the ward along with the large amount of physical infrastructure.