'Demise Of Gen Rawat A Loss To Every Patriot': PM Modi At Inauguration Of Saryu Nahar National Project

The Saryu Nahar National Project entails the interconnection of five rivers — the Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga, and Rohini — in order to maximise the region's water resources.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Saryu Nahar National Project in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district.

At the inauguration event, he remembered late General Bipin Rawat, saying: "I express my condolences to all brave warriors who died in the helicopter crash on December 8. The demise of India's first CDS Gen Bipin Rawat is a loss to every patriot. He was brave and worked hard to make the country's armed forces self-reliant, the nation is a witness to that".

"A soldier doesn't remain a soldier only as long as he stays in the military. His entire life is that of a warrior. He is dedicated to the discipline and pride of the country every moment," he added, as quoted by news agency ANI.

He further added that "wherever General Bipin Rawat maybe, in the days to come, he will see India moving ahead with new resolutions".

"India is mourning but despite being in pain, neither do we stop our pace nor our development. India won't stop. India won't be at a standstill. Together, we Indians will work hard and face every challenge inside and outside the country," PM Modi declared.

"We will make India even more powerful, even more prosperous," he added.

Talking about the lone survivor of the IAF chopper crash, PM Modi informed that "doctors are working hard to save the life of Group Captain Varun Singh. I pray to Maa Pateshwari to save his life. The nation stands with his family. The country also stands with the families who lost those brave soldiers".

PM Modi is in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district for the inauguration of the Saryu Nahar National Project. 

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the project cost over Rs 9,800 crore to build, with more than Rs 4,600 crore set aside in the previous four years.

The project would offer guaranteed water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and assist approximately 29 lakh farmers in the region.

Saryu Nahar National Project

The project entails the interconnection of five rivers — the Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga, and Rohini — in order to maximise the region's water resources.

The project began in 1978, but owing to a lack of financial consistency, interdepartmental coordination, and sufficient monitoring, it was postponed and did not finish even after nearly four decades, PMO stated.

The project was brought under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana in 2016, with the goal of completing it on schedule, according to the PMO.

Innovative solutions were developed in this endeavour for fresh land acquisition to construct additional canals and bridge important gaps in the project, as well as for settling existing litigation linked to past land purchases, the PMO statement informed. Because of the newfound emphasis, the project was finished in under four years, it said.

According to the PMO, the project would offer guaranteed water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and assist over 29 lakh farmers in over 6,200 communities.

It would help nine districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh: Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur, and Maharajganj.

Farmers in the region, who have suffered the most as a result of the project's unreasonable delay, would now greatly profit from the improved irrigation potential, PMO stated.

(With Agency Inputs)