Paragraph on Kosi River Project of India!
The Kosi River had earned the dubious name of sorrow of Bihar due to its devastating floods and frequent changes in its course.
In order to tame the river and save precious lives and property from its annual fury, an agreement was signed with Nepal in 1954 (revised in 1961) and work on the project was started in 1955.
Thus it is an international project. The entire plan has been executed by India but the benefits are being shared both by India and Nepal.
The chief objectives of this project are irrigation, flood control, power generation, land reclamation, fishing and navigation.
The entire work on this project comprises three units viz., a barrage near Hanumannagar in Nepal, flood embankments on both sides of the river and construction of irrigation canals.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The 1149 metre long and 72 metre high concrete barrage at Hanumannagar in Nepal was constructed in 1965. About 270 km long embankments on either side of the river were completed much earlier in 1959.
The eastern and the western flood embankments were later extended by 25.76 km and 4.0 km respectively. This extension has provided protection to an area of 15,190 hectares of land in the lower reaches of the river from recurring submergence by floods.
The Eastern Kosi canal is 43.5 km long and provides perennial irrigation to 5.19 lakh hectares in Pumea and Saharsa districts of Bihar. This canal has been extended to irrigate 1.6 lakh hectares of additional land in Saharsa and Munger districts.
The 113 km. Western Kosi Canal takes off from the right bank of the Kosi barrage and irrigates about 3.25 lakh hectares in Darbhanga district of Bihar and 12,120 hectares in Satpari district of Nepal. The length of the Rajpur Canal is 9.6 km only but it irrigates 1.6 lakh hectares in Saharsa and Munger districts.
It takes off from the Eastern Kosi main canal. The power house at Eastern Kosi canal has an installed capacity of 20 M.W. Electricity generated by this power house is shared on 50 per cent basis by India and Nepal. There is a plan to connect the power house of Kosi to the power houses of the Damodar Valley Project and set up a grid to supply electricity to larger areas.