Abohar, March 27
Finally, decks have been cleared for annual repair works of Gang Canal in Punjab and Sriganganagar. Recently, the Rajasthan Government released Rs 40 lakh for the Punjab Irrigation Department.
The canal irrigates 303,000 hectares, equivalent to that of Upper Bari Doab Canal. Officials from the Water Resources Department said the canal would be closed from April 1 to 20.
The Rajasthan Government has also released Rs 1.25 crore for cleaning and desilting its distributaries.
Harvinder Singh Gill, chairman, Ganga Canal project, said a 5-member committee would be formed to oversee the repair works. The Punjab Government has issued tenders for works at 11 different places on the main feeder. Of these, eight tenders have already been floated. The remaining three tenders would likely be floated by Monday.
Gill said efforts should be made to recover the outstanding irrigation charges (Abiyana) from farmers and deposit the same with the department. Around Rs 12 crore has to be recovered, but only Rs 1.5 crore has been recovered so far. —
Rs1.65 cr released for canal repair works
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