Chhatarpur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 launched the Ken-Betwa Link Project, the dream project of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This project will pave the way for historic change for Bundelkhand. About 2.51 lakh hectares of land in four districts of UP including Banda will be irrigated.
Superintending Engineer Irrigation Division Banda Shyamji Choubey said that two new barrages are being built on the Ken River in Banda and Pailani. At present, 87 thousand hectares of land is irrigated here through the Ken Canal system. Through this project it will be increased to approximately two lakh hectares. This will make the farmers of Banda happy.
Other districts also benefit
The project will also irrigate thousands of hectares of land in Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur. 37 thousand hectares of additional land in Mahoba will get the benefit of irrigation. 17 thousand hectares of land will be accumulated in Jhansi. Whereas in Lalitpur, 3 thousand hectares of land will be irrigated.
Old dams will be renovated
Reconstruction of historical dams of Bundelkhand is also part of the project. Barua Sagar Dam which was built 300 years ago in 1700, will now undergo renovation. Bariyarpur Weir was built in 1906, there are plans to reconstruct it also. Pariksha Wear was built in 1910 and will be renovated. Similarly, under the project, a 21 km long link channel will be built in UP. For this, 271 hectares of land will be acquired.
The dream will be fulfilled by 2030
Two barrages will be built at Banda and Pailani. This will cost around Rs 2,000 crore. Its construction work is targeted to be completed by June 2029. Yogi government has set a target to complete the project by 2030. Apart from this, the work of renovation of 15 dams and ponds in Mahoba at a cost of Rs 510 crore will also be completed by March 2028.
