Madhya Pradesh: PM Modi to lay foundation of Ken-Betwa river link project in Khajuraho tomorrow

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], December 24 (ANI): Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Khajuraho in Chhatarpur district on December 25 to lay the foundation of the Ken-Betwa river link project which will change the destiny of Bundelkhand region.
Chief Minister Yadav also highlighted that the Ken-Betwa link project was a unique example of cooperation and coordination between the Central Government, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and PM Modi took the initiative to realize former Prime Minister Bharat Ratna Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee's dream of the river linking campaign.
According to an official release, the Chief Minister said that the multipurpose and ambitious Ken-Betwa Link Project would change the face and destiny of the entire Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Through this project, farmers would get ample water for irrigation and will also get sufficient water for drinking and industrial uses. Along with the economic and social development of the area, tourism will also be promoted and new employment opportunities will be created. The situation of groundwater in the drought-hit Bundelkhand region will also improve.
The CM said that Ken-Betwa Link National Project is the largest irrigation project in the country adopting an underground pressurized pipe irrigation system. This project is being constructed on the Ken River in the Chhatarpur and Panna districts of Madhya Pradesh. Under the project, a 77-meter high and 2.13-kilometer long Daudhan Dam and 2 tunnels (upper level 1.9 km and lower level 1.1 km) will be constructed on Ken River in Panna Tiger Reserve and 2,853 million cubic meters of water will be stored in the dam. The surplus water of Ken River will be transferred to Betwa River through the 221 km long link canal from Daudhan Dam on Ken River, providing irrigation and drinking water facilities in both states, stated the release.
Through a pressurised micro irrigation system from the project, 8.11 lakh hectare area can be irrigated in 2 thousand villages of 10 districts including Panna, Damoh, Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Sagar, Raisen, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Datia. About 7 lakh farmer families will be benefited from the project, it added.
The project will provide drinking water to 44 lakh population of Madhya Pradesh and 21 lakh population of Uttar Pradesh. Besides, the project will generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar energy. Madhya Pradesh will get its full benefit, it added.
The project also includes the work of saving the historical Chandela era heritage ponds. By repairing/renovating 42 ponds of the Chandel era in Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh and Niwari districts of Madhya Pradesh, water can be stored during the rainy season, which will benefit the rural areas and increase the groundwater level. The construction of the project will bring prosperity and happiness in the lives of farmers along with increased crop production through advanced irrigation technology. Besides, the water crisis prevalent in the Bundelkhand region will end and migration for employment will also be curbed, the release added. (ANI)