Bhubaneswar: The state government Friday set a new target for completion of the much-awaited Kanpur irrigation project in Keonjhar district.
Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra and Secretary to CM (5T) VK Pandian Friday visited the project site and said the project will be completed by December 2023.
The project was conceived 40 years ago and three chief ministers have laid its foundation on different occasions. The project, once functional, will facilitate irrigation to around 30,000 hectare land spread over five blocks of the district. When completed, the irrigation project will also help in controlling floods in Anandapur area of Keonjhar and several other areas of Jajpur and Bhadrak districts.
The Chief Secretary and 5T Secretary also reviewed the progress of drinking water supply projects in the district. The state government is giving utmost emphasis on providing piped water supply to every household in rural and urban areas. Accordingly, a target has been set to provide water supply to all households of Keonjhar district by March 2023, said Mahapatra.
The officers also visited the Government Girls’ High School run by the Scheduled Caste (SC) & Scheduled Tribe (ST) Development department in Basudevpur and interacted with the students and teachers about facilities provided at the school. They inspected the quality of midday meal (MDM) provided to the students and sports infrastructure at the school.
The school was redeveloped under the High School Transformation programme of the state government.
Among others, Water Resources department additional chief secretary Anu Garg and Keonjhar Collector Ashish Thakare were present during the visit.