Banke, April 18: The Sikta Irrigation Project, which is being constructed in Banke district, has achieved just 46 per cent of progress since two decades of the project commencement. The project was initiated in the fiscal year 2061/62 BS.
Director of the Project, Raju Acharya, said that a total of Rs 23.77 billion was spent so far, which is 44.95 per cent of the fiscal progress and 46 per cent of the physical progress.
Acharya shared that Rs 3.30 billion has been proposed for this fiscal year and Rs 1.57 billion was spent as of now. “More than Rs 857.79 million has been spent as of the Nepali month of Chaitra in the current fiscal year,” Acharya added.
The project being built by constructing a dam in the Rapti river in Raptisonari Rural Municipality-3 is expected to irrigate 42,766 hectares of land. As of now, the project has ensured irrigation facility in 24,000 hectares of land.
Information Officer of the Project and Senior Divisional Engineer Manoj Kumar Sah said that the multi-year project would be completed in three phases and Rs 12.8 billion is estimated for the first and two phases of the project development. The cost of the third phase is not included in this.
Information Officer Sah argued that some 400,000 farmers of 17,000 households in Banke district are expected to benefit after the completion of the project.
