Naveen to Dedicate Lower Suktel Project – The Lifeline of Balangir Today

Balangir: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will today dedicate to the people the Lower Suktel Mega Irrigation Project that is regarded as the lifeline of Balangir. The Chief Minister is scheduled to arrive in Balangir and inaugurate the project. Along with that, Naveen is scheduled to inaugurate 69 other projects worth Rs 305 crore. He is also scheduled to lay the foundation stones of 112 infrastructure projects worth Rs 2220 crore during the visit today.

The Lower Suktel Irrigation Project will benefit the people of about 206 villages in Balangir and Subarnapur districts. It will irrigate more than 40 thousand hectares of agriculture land and provide drinking water to more than 70 thousand houses.

First conceptualised in the year 1998, the project work faced various hurdles but after being included in the 5T Initiatives, it got a new lease of life and all works were speeded up. Under the supervision of 5T Chairman Kartik Pandian, the Lower Suktel Project has been completed. He had visited the project site many times and took personal interest for its early completion. The Dam has a capacity to hold about 320 lakh cubic meters of water and it will help more than one lakh farmers of both the district. It has been built with a project cost of Rs 2723 crore.