Mithila: Farmers in Bihar’s Mithila region are set to benefit from a huge government project that will expand and modernise the West Kosi Canal. The state cabinet has approved Rs 8,678 crore for this work. Sanjay Kumar Jha, Rajya Sabha MP and former Water Resources Minister, thanked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting the project, which will improve farming in Madhubani, Darbhanga, and Samastipur districts.
He said that under this project, 741 km of canals will be lined with cement and concrete so that water reaches fields throughout the year, during both Rabi and Kharif seasons. This will help farmers grow more crops like those in Punjab and Haryana. The project will also build 338 km of roads along the canals, making it easier for villagers to travel and transport their produce.
The plan includes building 990 new structures such as bridges and regulators, and repairing 763 old ones to manage water flow better. It will expand canals like Ugnath, Videshwarasthan, and Kakarghati, which will bring an extra 58,658 hectares of land under irrigation. This will benefit around 24 lakh people living in 36 blocks of Darbhanga and Madhubani districts, giving them water security and hope for better incomes.
Sanjay Kumar Jha said the canal project was pending for decades due to neglect, but the state government started its restoration in 2020 with Rs 735 crore, bringing water to many villages for the first time. He also thanked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for supporting the project after her visit to Mithila last year. Jha said this project will bring big changes in Mithila’s agriculture in the next three to four years and make farmers’ lives better.
