The Sikta Irrigation Project has conducted a test release of water into part of the main canal as the construction of the scheme has been speeded up.

The test was conducted on a 33-km section of the main canal whose total length is 45 km. The irrigation project has been built on the Rapti River at Agaiya in Banke district. Other sections of the canal are under construction. 

“The test was conducted to examine the structures that have been completed so far,” said Saroj Pandit, director of the project. “We released water to check for weaknesses,” he added.

Most of this year’s government budget allocation of Rs1.69 billion has been spent so far. The construction work started 13 years ago, and the project has encountered constant delays due to lack of building materials, land acquisition problems and political obstructions.

The project will have a network of 280 km of canals and irrigate 80 percent of the farm land in Banke. Currently, 30 percent of the fields in the district are served by irrigation facilities.

Water has been released into the main canal for two days, said Prakash Subedi, senior divisional engineer of the project. Locals said that parts of the canal were damaged after water was released into it.  The government has estimated the total cost of the project at Rs25.02 billion. It is scheduled to be completed by the fiscal year 2019-20.