Pathankot, Nov 5 (IANS) On the sacred occasion of the Parkash Purab of the first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak Dev, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday gifted the people of the state a landmark project of Rs 3,394.49 crore by formally inaugurating the Shahpur Kandi Project, which will significantly boost the state’s electricity generation and irrigation facilities.

Congratulating everyone on the Parkash Purab while dedicating the project to the people, the Chief Minister said today “marks a historic day for the nation, especially for Punjab.”

He expressed heartfelt gratitude on behalf of all Punjabis to the engineers, employees, and labourers who worked tirelessly day and night to turn this dream project into reality.

Mann said the dam project will prove to be a blessing for farmers, industrialists, traders and common citizens.

The Chief Minister said Punjab, being an agrarian state, will gain immensely from this project as it will not only increase power generation but also provide extensive irrigation facilities.

He said, apart from it, the project will also create large-scale employment opportunities for the youth. Mann envisioned that the Shahpur Kandi Dam would be the lifeline of Punjab, especially for the Majha region.

The Chief Minister said he was confident that this dam would illuminate lakhs of homes and brighten countless lives.

Sharing detailed information about the project, he said the Shahpur Kandi Dam Project is being constructed at a cost of Rs 3,394.49 crore, out of which Punjab is contributing Rs 2,694.02 crore (around 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 have been acquired for the project, out of which 1,643.77 acres are in Punjab and 1,527.95 acres in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking about irrigation benefits, the Chief Minister said the project will provide irrigation facilities to 5,000 hectares (12,500 acres) of land in Punjab, bringing water to farmlands in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, and other districts of the Majha region.

He said it will also ensure a continuous irrigation supply to 1.18 lakh hectares under the Upper Bari Doab Canal system.

He said before the construction of the Shahpur Kandi Dam, the Ranjit Sagar Dam powerhouse could not operate at its full capacity of 600 MW during peak hours (morning and evening) because there was no downstream reservoir to store water, resulting in excess water flowing unused into Pakistan.

However, the Chief Minister said that with the commissioning of the Shahpur Kandi Dam, water released from the Ranjit Sagar Dam will now be stored in the new reservoir, enabling optimal power generation during high-demand hours and ensuring a steady supply of water for irrigation.

He said the Shahpur Kandi Dam stands 55.5 meters high and includes a 7.7 km-long hydel channel.

Mann said two powerhouses with a total capacity of 206 MW are being constructed, and nearly 75 per cent of the work has already been completed.

–IANS

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