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Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has urged all stakeholders to work together to complete the national pride Sikta Irrigation Project within the stipulated deadline, saying its timely completion will bring lasting improvements to agricultural production, food security and the rural economy in the Banke district.

Speaking during an interaction with project officials and beneficiary farmers after inspecting the project site, Shrestha said the government is committed to ensuring adequate funding for the project and called for faster construction.

He said he would take the necessary initiatives to resolve legal, administrative and procedural hurdles affecting the implementation of the project. He also pledged to simplify and make multi-year contract and approval procedures more effective.

Expressing concern over encroachment, pollution and unplanned urbanisation along the canal corridor, the minister stressed the need to prioritise canal protection as irrigated farmland continues to shrink.

Shrestha said the government's role would not end with providing irrigation infrastructure. It would also coordinate efforts to improve agricultural marketing, ensure the supply of quality seeds and fertilisers, and strengthen agricultural value chains.

He said the Sikta Irrigation Project would serve as a long-term foundation for agricultural modernisation, higher farm productivity, stronger food security and increased farmer incomes in Banke.

During the visit, the minister also interacted with local farmers, took stock of the ongoing paddy plantation season, and listened to their concerns and suggestions.

The Sikta Irrigation Project, funded entirely by the Government of Nepal, began in the fiscal year 2004/05. It includes a 317 metre barrage across the Rapti River at Agaiya in Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality, Banke.

The project aims to provide reliable irrigation to 42,766 hectares of farmland in Rapti Sonari, Janaki, Baijanath, Duduwa, Narainapur and Khajura rural municipalities, as well as Kohalpur Municipality and Nepalgunj Sub Metropolitan City.

Under the plan, the western main canal will irrigate 33,766 hectares, while the eastern canal will cover around 9,000 hectares.

Listed as a national pride project in the fiscal year 2011/12, the scheme has an approved estimated cost of about Rs 52.89 billion. It is being implemented in three phases, with the second phase currently underway. The government aims to complete the project by the fiscal year 2032/33.

According to project officials, overall physical progress has reached 50.5 percent, while financial progress stands at 45.53 percent. Around Rs 24.08 billion has been spent so far, and irrigation facilities have already been extended to about 25,000 hectares of farmland.

Major works completed include the 317-metre barrage at Agaiya, a desilting basin and a flushing channel. Construction of the 45.25-kilometre western main canal with a capacity of 50 cubic-metres per second has been completed, while 37.675 kilometres of the planned 53.5-kilometre eastern main canal, designed to carry 14.5 cubic-metres per second, has also been built.

The project has further completed 77.59 kilometres of branch and sub branch canals out of a planned 233 kilometres, around 30 kilometres of embankments, and acquired 187 hectares of land for canal and related infrastructure.

It has also modernised farmer managed irrigation systems, constructed water storage facilities, and expanded lift irrigation to around 150 hectares of farmland in Kachanapur, Balapur and Dhakeri.