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Pathankot, Nov 5 (IANS) On the auspicious occasion of the Prakash Parv of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday gifted a historic project worth Rs 3,394.49 crore to the people of the state by formally inaugurating the Shahpur Kandi Project, which will significantly boost the state’s power generation and irrigation facilities.
Dedicating the project to the people and congratulating everyone on Prakash Parv, the Chief Minister said that today is “a historic day for the country, especially for Punjab.”
On behalf of all Punjabis, he expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the engineers, employees and laborers who worked tirelessly day and night to turn this dream project into reality.
Mann said that the dam project will prove to be a boon for farmers, industrialists, traders and common citizens.
The Chief Minister said that Punjab, being an agricultural state, would greatly benefit from this project as it would not only increase power generation but would also provide extensive irrigation facilities.
Apart from this, he said, this project will also create employment opportunities for the youth on a large scale. Mann envisioned that the Shahpur Kandi Dam would be the lifeline of Punjab, especially the Majha region.
The Chief Minister said that he is confident that this dam will light up lakhs of homes and brighten the lives of countless people.
Sharing detailed information about the project, he said that the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project is being constructed at a cost of Rs 3,394.49 crore, of which Punjab is contributing Rs 2,694.02 crore (about 80 per cent), while the remaining Rs 700.45 crore (20 per cent) is being funded by the Government of India.
Mann said 3,171.72 acres of land has been acquired for the project, of which 1,643.77 acres is in Punjab and 1,527.95 acres is in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking about the irrigation benefits, the Chief Minister said the project will provide irrigation facilities to 5,000 hectares (12,500 acres) of land in Punjab, providing water to fields in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and other districts of the Majha region.
He said it would also ensure continuous irrigation supply to 1.18 lakh hectares under the Upper Bari Doab canal system.
He said that before the construction of Shahpur Kandi Dam, the Ranjit Sagar Dam power plant could not operate at its full capacity of 600 MW during peak hours (morning and evening) as there was no downstream reservoir to store water, resulting in excess water flowing into Pakistan without use.
However, the Chief Minister said that with the commissioning of Shahpur Kandi Dam, water released from Ranjit Sagar Dam will now be stored in the new reservoir, thereby enabling optimal power generation during high demand hours and ensuring continuous supply of water for irrigation.
He said the Shahpur Kandi Dam is 55.5 meters high and consists of a 7.7 km long hydropower channel.
Mann said two power plants with a total capacity of 206 MW are being constructed and about 75 percent of the work has already been completed.
–IANS
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