Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka at inauguration ceremony of the Settling Basin constructed under the Nepal Gandak West Canal Irrigation System. Photo: Purusottam Subedi/TRN

Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, today inaugurated the Settling Basin constructed under the Nepal Gandak West Canal Irrigation System in West Nawalparasi.

The Minister, alongside Binod Chaudhary, the Member of Parliament representing the constituency, jointly inaugurated the infrastructure at a programme organised by the Nepal Gandak Paschim Irrigation Management Office in Semari, Nawalparasi.

On the occasion, Minister Khadka expressed his commitment to resolving the persistent issues of flooding and inadequate irrigation facilities faced by the residents of West Nawalparasi.

He stated, “Six rivers in this region require embankment construction, and adequate funding is essential for this purpose. The government is fully committed to addressing these needs.”

Similarly, Binod Chaudhary, representative of West Nawalparasi-1 in the Federal Parliament, said that the new infrastructure will increase the canal’s irrigation capacity by fivefold, significantly benefiting local farmers.

The Settling Basin construction project, with an investment of Rs 35 million, was completed over two and a half years. The canal, originally constructed in 1982 (Bikram Sambat 2039), had an irrigation capacity of 8,700 hectares. However, due to an issue of sand accumulation at the canal head, only 20 per cent of this capacity was being utilised.

Following today’s inauguration, the Settling Basin will prevent sand from entering the canal, thereby restoring irrigation facilities to cover the full 8,700 hectares of land, it has been said.