Achievement of Mann government in Punjab, in just 4 years water equal to Bhakra Canal was delivered to the fields of the state.

Punjab News: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that in the last few years, work has been done on a large scale to strengthen the irrigation system in the state. He says that the government has tried to provide more water to the farmers by improving the canals and restarting the old system.

reopened closed canals

According to the Chief Minister, earlier only about 26.5 percent of the fields in Punjab were being irrigated with canal water, but now it has increased to about 78 percent. This means that more fields have started getting water from canals than before. He said the government has ensured surplus water from seasonal rivers and restarted closed canals, which has benefited agriculture.

About Rs 6,700 crore spent in last 4 years

CM said that in the last four years, about Rs 6,700 crore has been spent for the repair, cleaning and improvement of canals. Apart from this, work has also been done on construction and repair of about 13,000 km long canals. Due to this, canal water is now reaching about 58 lakh acres of land, which was much less earlier.

Reopened more than 18 thousand routes

The government got more than 15,500 canals cleaned and more than 18,000 water ways reopened. Along with this, more than 7 thousand small water channels have also been restored. Due to this, water has started reaching even remote fields.

new land not taken

The Chief Minister said that there were many canals which were closed for 30-40 years. Now more than 100 of those canals have been reopened. Their total length is about 545 kilometers. The special thing is that new land was not taken for these works, rather the old system was improved and put into use. He gave the example of Sarhali Canal in Tarn Taran district, which is about 22 kilometers long and was closed for a long time. Now it has been restarted and nearby farmers are getting benefit from it.

Farmers are getting convenience in farming

Apart from this, the capacity of big canals like Firozpur Feeder and Sirhind Canal has also been increased, due to which more water is being available. Lining of canals is also saving water and leakage has reduced. Earlier, farmers used to get canal water on a rotational basis, but now an attempt has been made to change the system and provide water on daily basis. Due to this, farmers are getting convenience in farming.

Decrease in dependence on groundwater

The government says that due to these efforts the dependence on ground water (water below the ground) has also reduced. In some areas, the use of groundwater has reduced significantly compared to before, which is being considered a good sign for the future. Along with this, work has also been done for flood prevention and water management. Works like cleaning rivers and drains, removing silt and strengthening embankments are being done so that the damage can be reduced.

Shahpur Kandi Dam project also completed

The Chief Minister also informed that the long stalled Shahpur Kandi Dam project has now been completed. This will help in better use of water in the state. Overall, the government says that due to all these efforts, the farmers of Punjab are getting more and regular water for irrigation, which is expected to improve farming and increase production.

Also read: Punjab Budget 2026-27: ‘Mukhyamantri Sehat Yojana’ gets big support, allocation of Rs 2,000 crore