In a major embarrassment for the Bihar government, the inauguration of the Rs 389.31 crore Ganga pump canal scheme by the chief minister yesterday was cancelled after a canal wall collapsed and the gushing waters inundated parts of a township
The wall of Kohalgaon dam which collapsed during the trial run and inundated nearby areas of a township in Bhagalpur. Pic/PTI
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In a major embarrassment for the Bihar government, the inauguration of the Rs 389.31 crore Ganga pump canal scheme by the chief minister yesterday was cancelled after a canal wall collapsed and the gushing waters inundated parts of a township.
The wall broke up after being forcefully hit by the Ganga river waters when the pump was switched on for a trial run yesterday at Bateshwarsthan in Bhagalpur district.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was scheduled to inaugurate the canal scheme, aimed at providing irrigation facilities in the state and neighbouring Jharkhand. The water gushed into Kahalgaon and inundated areas in NTPC township as well as some civil areas including the residence of the Kahalgaon civil judge and the sub-judge. "The proposed programme of the chief minister at Bhagalpur today has been cancelled due to technical reasons," an official statement said in Patna yesterday.
Red-faced govt orders probe
The Bihar government later ordered a probe into the breach. "A probe by Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department, has been ordered into the matter," State Water Resources Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan said.
27,603
No of hectares the project has the capacity of irrigating
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