Proposal to repair British-era canals

Nashik: The Nashik irrigation division (NID) of the Maharashtra water resources department (WRD) has proposed repairs to the 110-year-old Godavari left bank and right bank canals that provide water for drinking and agricultural purposes to parts of Nashik, Ahmednagar and Aurangabad districts.

“This is phase-3 of the developmental works being proposed for the repairs of the old structures. We have proposed repairs to 60 works that include strengthening and widening of arched aqueducts of the canals at an estimated cost of Rs 85 crore,” NID executive engineer Sagar Shinde said on Wednesday.

The canals originate from the Nandurmadhyameshwar pick-up weir in Niphad taluka of Nashik district on the Godavari river. The 110km right bank canal (RBC) provides water to Niphad, Sinnar, talukas of Nashik and Kopargaon, Rahata (Shirdi municipal council) and Shreerampur in Ahmednagar district. The 90km left bank canal (LBC) takes water to Niphad and Yeola in Nashik district and Vaijapur in Aurangabad district.

“In all there are 364 structures that include crossings and arched aqueducts on both the canals that were built by the British. All of these have become weak and also need expansion to increase the flow of water considering the rise demand,” said Shinde.

The repair works were proposed a decade ago and 74 works at a cost of Rs 11.31 crore in the first phase and 47 worth Rs 6.64 crore in the second phase have been carried out so far. Of the remaining 243 works, 60 structures need urgent repairs.

The proposal has been presented to the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation (GMIDC) to be forwarded to the state government.


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