Gujarat strengthens water bodies; completes over 2.21 crore cubic metres of earthwork in three years
Gandhinagar, May 20
To ensure optimised irrigation resources reach the state's agricultural grassroots, the Gujarat government has completed approximately 2.21 crore cubic metres of earthwork over the last three years to reinforce water bodies and enhance storage capacity, water resources department officials said.
The special desilting and water body rejuvenation campaign surpassed its initial targeted projection of 203 lakh cubic metres of earthwork between the financial periods of 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Speaking on the achievement, Gujarat Minister of State for Water Resources and Water Supply, Ishwarsinh Patel, stated that the state has established a new milestone under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
"Against the planned target of 203 lakh cubic metres of earthwork, the department successfully achieved 221.37 lakh cubic metres of earthwork through its dedicated government machinery," Minister Ishwarsinh Patel said.
The dynamic campaign specifically targeted restoring the original capacity of canals, rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs, ensuring that crucial irrigation water effortlessly reaches the tail-end agrarian zones of the state.
Detailing structural improvement works, the minister highlighted that an extensive cleaning drive covering a 4,223 km length was executed to eliminate unwanted vegetative blockages across an area of approximately 123 lakh square metres.
"The structural improvement works included the extensive removal of unusable vegetation such as dense bushes and wild shrubs growing aggressively along critical dams, irrigation canals, lakes, and natural water channels," he added.
According to departmental data, the massive infrastructural tasks were systematically managed across 1,474 operational sites. The state mobilised a heavy fleet of heavy earth-moving machinery, deploying an average of 88 to 96 modern government machines daily over the three-year timeline.
The state government's Irrigation Mechanical Circles in Ahmedabad and Vadodara played a vital role in executing these heavy-duty engineering works. Beyond basic desilting, the technical teams were deployed around the clock to execute specialised tasks, including the construction of cofferdams, strengthening weak earthen embankments, maintaining critical drainage lines, and actively mitigating salinity ingress in vulnerable coastal pockets.
Expressing confidence over the state's structural self-reliance, the Water Resources Minister concluded that through sustained modernisation, strategic heavy machinery deployment, and technology integration, the state is progressively moving forward in its long-term objective of making Gujarat a water-surplus state.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive numbers but I'm curious about the long-term impact. We need sustainable water management in Gujarat, not just periodic campaigns. Hope they also focus on rainwater harvesting and check dam construction alongside this desilting work. 🤔
Having visited some of these canal restoration sites near Vadodara, I can vouch for the visible improvement. The 4,223 km cleaning drive is no joke! If we can maintain this momentum, Gujarat might actually become water-surplus. Well done, minister saheb! 💧💪
Ye toh accha hai par yeh numbers ka kya fayda agar paani tail-end tak nahi pahunchta? Main dekhta hoon apne gaon mein, kuch canals abhi bhi bandh hain. Umeed karte hain yeh kaam zameen par bhi dikhe. Abhi aur monitoring chahiye. 😔
The emphasis on salinity ingress prevention in coastal areas is brilliant! We in Kutch really suffer from that problem. This campaign seems well-planned with those 1,474 sites and heavy machinery deployment. Feels like the government is serious about water security. Shabash! 🚜👏
Good work but why only talk about 3 years? Such campaigns should be annual and integrated with local panchayats. Also, using modern machinery is fine but what about local job creation? Many labourers lost work due to machine deployment. Balanced approach needed! 🤷♀️
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