The Sikta irrigation project is collecting data on farmers

As project director Raju Acharya reported, data collection covers farmers receiving irrigation services through the branches of the East and West Main Canals, as well as those planning to use them in the future. Registration as water users is a prerequisite for accessing services, and this process is already nearing completion. The procedure was preceded by consultations with local elected representatives and the cultivators themselves.

Based on the obtained membership data, committees will be formed to manage the main canals and their branches. In addition, the project directorate will be able to plan the expansion of irrigation networks, the construction of necessary infrastructure, and calculate costs. Discussions involving beneficiaries have already taken place along a number of branches of the West and East Main Canals. Lal Bahadur Basnet, chairman of the ad-hoc consumers' committee of the East Main Canal, noted that the collected data will assist in future work planning.

Construction of the facility started in the 2062/63 fiscal year and is funded by the Government of Nepal. As part of the initiative, a 317-meter-long barrage has been constructed on the Rapti River in Agaiya (Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality of Banke District). The physical progress of the project is estimated at 51 percent, with about 24 billion rupees already allocated for infrastructure. Specialists carry out regular maintenance and expect to complete the remaining construction work within the next five years.

The project is designed to provide irrigation for 42,766 hectares of land. Of these, 33,766 hectares are to receive water through the West Main Canal, and about 9,000 hectares through the East Main Canal. Currently, irrigation capacities already cover 25,000 hectares.