Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday dedicated the Rs 2,723-crore Lower Suktel Irrigation Project to the people of the state in a boon for drought-prone Bolangir district.

The project on Suktel river, considered the lifeline of Bolangir district, is set to benefit the people of around 203 villages.

The 5,284km irrigation system will help to irrigate over one lakh acre of agriculture land and benefit over 80,000 farmers, besides providing drinking water to 70,000 people in Bolangir and Sonepur districts.

Patnaik, during his visit to Bolangir, also inaugurated 69 other projects worth Rs 305 crore and also laid the foundation stones of 112 infrastructure projects worth Rs 2,220 crore.

The work for the Lower Suktel Project faced several hurdles over the years. It was conceptualised in 1998 and Patnaik laid the foundation stone for the project in 2001. The initial estimated cost of the project was Rs 217 crore, which subsequently escalated to about Rs 3,000 crore.

The project took around 23 years to see light of the day as it was initially opposed by villagers. As many as 29 villages were displaced to pave way for the project.

After inaugurating the project, Naveen praised the people who sacrificed their land for it. The project work was expedited only after it was included in the 5T (transformational) Initiatives.

The 31-metre-high dam has a capacity to hold about 320 lakh cubic metres of water.

“The Lower Suktel Project would place Bolangir in the forefront of next level of transformation in the farm sector,” Naveen said, adding that the project would go a long way in mitigating the plight of farmers of the region by providing them with reliable irrigation facility.

Noting that that tour to Bolangir was his first visit in 2024, Naveen said he was optimistic that the project would resolve the water-related problems of people.

“Farmers are the chariots of the state’s economy and the state government is taking them towards development. Lower Suktel Project will bring a new chapter in the development of Bolangir,” Patnaik said.

PTI