Ahmedabad, May 27 (IANS) Gujarat on Wednesday exceeded its target for desilting reservoirs, canals, rivers and other water bodies over the past three years, with more than 221 lakh cubic metres of silt removed across the state between 2022-23 and 2024-25, according to the state government.

The desilting drive, carried out by the Water Resources Department under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, surpassed the original target of 203 lakh cubic metres.

Officials said the campaign covered 1,474 locations across the state and included the removal of silt and unwanted vegetation from key water bodies to strengthen irrigation and water storage infrastructure.

The state government said structural improvement works were undertaken over nearly 4,223 km with the assistance of an average of 88 to 96 heavy machines deployed at different sites.

Water Resources and Water Supply Minister Ishwarsinh Patel said the works had been carried out extensively over the last three years.

“Over the last three years, work has been carried out at a total of 1,474 different sites with the help of an average of 88 to 96 government machines, covering nearly 123 lakh square metres of area and around 4,223 km in length,” he added.

As part of the wider campaign to conserve and improve water bodies, work is also underway in Manavadar taluka of Junagadh district, where Dagadna and Jambuda lakes are being connected and deepened to create a larger pond at an estimated cost of Rs 6.5 crore.

Local farmers said the project was expected to improve water availability for irrigation and drinking purposes in the area.

Ramesh Bararia, a farmer from Manavadar taluka, said excavation work had been continuing for more than a month.

“For the last one to one-and-a-half months, vehicles have been operating to deepen this pond. Two Hitachi machines and four to five dumpers are working here. The pond is being deepened and the check dams will also be raised by two feet each. Because of this, the pond will be able to store three times more water than before,” he added.

Another farmer, Pravin Virda, said the project would improve water access to farms located several kilometres away.

“With this dam being deepened, water will reach my farm located around 3 to 3.5 km from here. This dam has been extremely useful for us. We had repeatedly requested the government for this work. The government paid attention to our demand and the dam is now being deepened. This will greatly benefit us,” he added.

M.L. Khambhala, Deputy Executive Engineer in the Irrigation Department at Junagadh, said the project would significantly increase the pond’s storage capacity and support irrigation in surrounding villages.

“The storage capacity of this pond was around 20 million cubic feet, but after the repair work and increase in the height of the waste weir, the earlier level will rise. This means the water storage capacity will increase by around two to three times, and nearly 500 to 600 hectares of nearby land will get irrigation benefits,” he added.

Officials said the state government continued to undertake water conservation initiatives under programmes such as ‘Sujalam Sufalam Yojana’ and ‘Catch the Rain’ to improve irrigation facilities and drinking water supply across Gujarat.

–IANS

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